Forward Motion
by Reizbar-Ookami
Summary: AU Trying to make a good life for his brothers, Leon spends all of his free time working or studying. Cloud, blissfully unaware of his friends' problems, just wonders why the oldest Leonhart is so weird. That is, until, that fateful psychology assignment.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Cloud Strife was one of the most popular guys at school. How could he not be? He was kind, considerate, good looking, smart, and willing to help anyone. He even had his own fan club, consisting of both boys and girls. He was always smiling, even if for no particular reason; it was comforting to some people, and others joked that it would be a cold day in hell before the blond ever got mad at someone.

Squall Leonhart was also popular. Not on the same level Cloud was, though. It was more of a 'jeez, who is that kid' popularity. Everyone knew him because no one knew him. He was the guy who sat in the back of all of his classes. He was the one who stayed after school everyday helping teachers just because they'd asked. He was the kid who got straight A's with what seemed like little work.

And he was madly in love with a blond boy named Cloud Strife, who would probably only ever know him as 'that weird guy that Yuffie sometimes talked to.'

This was what Yuffie thought about as she walked toward her first period class, for one of the few times in her life silent. Cloud was a dear friend, but _God_ was he blind. It seemed as if everyone loved him, but Squall's love was a different love. It wasn't the 'oh my Gosh, he's so popular, I love him!' kind of love. It was the 'I'll do anything you want as long as you acknowledge me, pay attention to me, and maybe even love me too?' kind of love.

It made her sick to her stomach sometimes, knowing that Squall was so madly in love with someone who thought he was probably one of the weirdest human-beings on the planet. It had taken her a while to realize that the brunet was actually a pretty cool guy, and she wished other people would see it too. Why couldn't they see the same caring, loving guy that she did?

The only reason Squall stayed after school everyday and helped the teachers was because he had time to spare before he had to go by the middle school to pick up his little brothers. The only reason he sat in the back of all of his classes was because he felt that no one wanted anything to do with him, so it was easier. The only reason it seemed he got straight A's with what seemed like little work was because he _needed_ to know everything he was taught, so he could help his little brothers with their homework, because his dad was always working abroad to support them. He was probably going to need a scholarship anyway, and the good grades helped.

And around all of his school and his brothers and their activities, he held a job at the local used-book store and café, the Book Bin. It helped that the old man who owned the store, Merlin, liked children; it helped even more that he especially liked Roxas and Sora, because they would always listen attentively to his stories of far away lands and ask him questions that he enjoyed answering. If Squall did have free time, it was usually spent on the couch, which was his bed, seeing as his little brother's had to share his father's queen-sized mattress on the floor.

The Leonharts had more than their share of problems. And Cloud was even _friends_ with Sora and Roxas. Was the blond really so oblivious that he couldn't see that even _Sora's_ smile was getting strained? The only reason he could still smile at all was because Merlin had promised both twins that they could have jobs at the Book Bin as soon as they finished eighth grade. Sure, it was a few months early, but it was probably for the best; their dad hadn't been able to send them a lot of money for a while.

Cloud worked very little; he'd only worked a few times for Cid Highwind, and even then, that was because his ever-so-loving parents had decided that for once in his life, he needed to earn his money. He had a nice house, parents who were basically rich, and what seemed like no problems whatsoever. ...Well, actually, he _had_ no problems. At least, if he did, they were trivial in comparison to Squall Leonhart's.

But how to get the blond to see that Squall was not 'that one weird guy?' How would she get him to see the social outcast as 'that one guy that has too much on his plate and needs help?' She had to be subtle about this one; she couldn't let Cloud think she was setting him up and she couldn't let Squall feel as if his pride was in question. So how...

Passing by the psychology classroom, a light bulb lit up above Yuffie's head with a soft _'ping.'_ The psychology project! She wasn't taking psychology personally, but everyone was talking about how students partnered up and virtually switched lives for a week. And with a teacher like Mr. Valentine, it was most likely that _he_ would be choosing partners.

Rushing into the classroom, the self-proclaimed 'Great Ninja' made her way to the usually scary man's desk. "Mr. Valentine! Mr. Valentine!"

The dark-haired man looked up from his lesson plans for the day and frowned. "May I help you? I don't believe I've seen you in my class before. ...And if you're here to get information on the project for a friend, please leave now. They'll find out today in class."

Yuffie laughed and shook her head. "No! That's not why I'm here at all! You see, my friend, Cloud--"

"Strife? He's failing my class." Vincent sighed in disappointment. "This is the only way he'll pass my class."

"Yeah, see, that's what I wanted to talk to you about," she stated, clasping her hands together hopefully. "I was wondering if you could partner Cloud up with Squall?"

"Squall? You mean Leon?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

The small girl scowled and blew a raspberry. "Oh, please. I don't see why he goes by that stupid name. But yeah, Leon or Squall or whatever he calls himself. Could you pair him up with Cloud?"

Vincent raised his lesson plans back up for further inspection, fully intending to just say 'no,' but thought better of it. Slowly lowering the papers, he looked back down at the student looking so pleadingly at him. "Give me one good reason, and I might consider it."

"Cloud doesn't have to work at all, and Squall has to do nothing _but_ work! He needs a break, and Cloud needs a reality check!" Yuffie answered swiftly, frowning.

"...You do realize that relaxing with Cloud in his stead may just cause Leon to have an anxiety attack?" he asked, raising an eyebrow again.

She rolled her eyes, then shook her head, leaning toward him. "Mr. Valentine, no offense, but sometimes, the student knows better than the teacher. You see, Cloud is blissfully unaware of how cruel life can be. And having Leon breathing down his neck to have everything perfect may just give him the kick in the ass he needs," she explained slowly, as if he was a child.

Vincent's eyebrow twitched, but he had to admit, the girl had a point. She should major in psychology. Smirking, he rested his arms on his desk. "I'll consider it, but only on one condition."

"What's that?" she asked, tilting her head innocently.

"You have to take my class next semester. Deal?"

Yuffie frowned, then smiled, holding her hand out for him to shake. "Teach, you got yourself a deal!"

-x-x-x-

"You'll each be assigned a partner with whom you'll switch lives. I expect an eight-page report on how you believe your-- ...let's call it a counterpart-- behaves based on their home life. You'll also be doing a five minute speech, and I expect a visual aid. And no, you will _not_ be picking your own partners. _I_ will be picking them for you."

Leon sighed and covered his face with his hands. 'Why me? What did I do to deserve this?'

"You'll be spending three days in each other's lives. Two will be weekdays; one will be a Saturday, as I've had too many complaints from parents and students alike that Sunday is the Sabbath," Vincent continued, not looking at the class as he wrote the criteria on the whiteboard.

"Sir? I heard that it was supposed to be a week-long project," Tidus stated, raising his hand.

The dark-haired man didn't even twitch. "Mr. Elwood, would you survive a week? I think not. Besides, I'm sure you'd all rather do your own homework and spend time with your own friends. Three days. This assignment is due a week from Thursday, so I suggest you go to each other's homes and places of work tonight to explain to your families or bosses. And I must warn you, when you're in your partner's class for him or her, the teachers will treat you exactly as they treat the original student. Which means--" he explained, finally turning toward the class. "--That even if Ms. Trepe loves you, if she dislikes your partner, she will act as if she dislikes you.

"This class will make or break you. If you have an A in this class and fail this assignment, you _will_ fail this class. If you have an F and ace this assignment, I can guarantee you will pass my class with at least a B. And I can also guarantee that if you give me an honest effort, I will at least grace you with a C. That won't change your overall grade in this class."

"...So are you going to dish out our sentences or what?" Seifer drawled, obviously not caring whether he failed or not.

'Not with Seifer! Anyone but Seifer!' Leon begged, unconsciously tightening his grip on his pencil.

"Fine, Mr. Almasy. You're partnered with Mr. Dincht."

A loud 'thunk' was heard as Zell slammed his forehead onto his desk.

"Ms. Tilmitt, you'll be partnered with Ms. Heartilly."

Selphie and Rinoa smiled at each other from across the room.

"Mr. Strife, you're going to be with Mr. Leonhart."

Leon felt himself pale as the whole class turned to look at him. He sunk in his seat and bit his bottom lip, wishing he could just disappear as fan girls and fan boys of the adorable blond alike sent him death glares. Seifer Almasy was starting to look pretty good right now.

Realizing that he was letting the others win by shrinking under their stares, he sat up straight. If Sora and Roxas thought he was a coward, they'd just be even more protective of him. ...And a protective Sora and Roxas weren't fun as it was. He sent the other students a scathing glare of his own, grip on his pencil tightening until it snapped in his hands.

Taking this as a warning from the usually stoic male, almost every student turned their attention back to the front of the room. Leon sighed and rested his face in his hands. 'Life can't get any worse, can it?'

Cloud tilted his head slightly in thought, watching the brunet sink into what seemed like despair. Well, if Yuffie thought of him as a friend, he couldn't be all bad, could he? Sure, he was a little off-standish, but he could deal with that. After all, he was good friends with Sora and Roxas. Maybe he could find out how Leon, with little brothers as sweet and outgoing as his were, came out to be such a reclusive guy.

Besides, it's not like he'd be shocked if they came from a rich family and the brunet felt _entitled._ Seriously, Sora and Roxas, though frugal, always had money on them. Then again, they'd always made it a point to _never_ allow themselves to let anyone bum money off of them, and became agitated if anyone kept pestering them about it.

Yes, he decided. This would be a wonderful learning experience. If not for psychology, just to be able to see how the oldest Leonhart came to act the way he did would be nice. Because, though he thought that Leon was strange, he also thought the brunet was strangely alluring.

In fact, if he hadn't been sure that his fan club would maul him, he would have asked Leon on a date. As it was, however, he was too afraid for the other's safety to make a move. Better to just wait it out and see if anyone ever became more popular than him.

He couldn't wait to make plans with Leon for the three days they'd spend in each other's lives.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"So, Leon... What were you thinking for our project?" Cloud asked, walking back to him after the bell rang to signal the end of school.

Leon fiddled with one of the broken halves of his pencil anxiously and sighed. "...I'd just like to get this over with as soon as possible. Could we start tomorrow?"

The blond frowned and crossed his arms. "You're making this sound like torture. Come on, Leon! This can be fun!" His frown faded into a smile. "Besides, my parents aren't that bad."

"...Whatever," Leon answered, shoving his book into his satchel. "I have to go pick up Sora and Roxas."

"I thought that middle school didn't get out until two forty-five?" Cloud tilted his head, frowning. "Don't you have another half hour until you need to pick them up?"

"Release. And soccer club was canceled." He shrugged slightly. "I could get some extra hours in at work anyway."

"Work? You have a job?" Cloud asked, trotting after him. Seriously, the guy's strides were twice the size of his. "Where do you work?"

Leon shrugged again. "The Book Bin."

"How often do you work?"

"Everyday."

"How long?"

"You know what-!" Leon stated, turning to glare at the shorter boy. "If you follow me, we can stop playing Twenty Questions! ...I hate games," he muttered, beginning to walk again.

"Really? Why? Sora and Roxas seem to love them," Cloud answered, frowning.

Leon could feel his temper rising. He hated being questioned, especially by someone who had basically ignored his existence for the last two years. But, with Sora and Roxas as his little brothers, he managed to keep his anger in check. ...He'd just take it out on some innocent bakery items later.

"Hey! You gonna answer me?" Cloud asked, crossing his arms and pouting a little. "I mean, it's kind of rude to just make someone ask questions if you're not gonna answer them. Do you treat Sora and Roxas like this? Is so, why do they seem to--"

Leon opened the passenger door of his old black convertible and shoved the blond into the seat. Taking the blond's backpack, he walked around to the trunk and threw it in with his satchel while Cloud tried to figure out what had just happened. He slid into the driver's seat seconds later, dragging the seatbelt across his body, before turning to glance at his passenger.

"...Put your seatbelt on. I'm not having my insurance rates go up because we get into some kind of fender bender and _you_ get hurt because _you're_ not wearing a seatbelt."

Cloud blinked, trying to get the words in his head to register, before looking up at the taller guy. "Huh?"

"Seatbelt. On. You know, this thing that keeps you from flying out the windshield during a car crash?" the brunet answered, tugging at his own seatbelt. Or, as Sora liked to call it, God's Helper To Keep Them From Killing Themselves In A Car Crash.

"Oh." Cloud blushed a little and put his seatbelt on.

Ten minutes later, he was glad Leon had told him to put his seatbelt on. THE GUY WAS A MAD MAN! Running red lights, screeching around corners, slamming on the breaks so he didn't just take out that little old lady-- OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! THEY WERE GOING TO _PASS_ THE _SCHOOL!_

_**SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH**_

As if used to this occurrence, Sora and Roxas got up from sitting on the curb well before their brother turned the corner. They smiled as they saw him pull up by the curb and went around to the trunk to deposit their bags.

Leon glanced over his shoulder at them carelessly. "Hurry up."

"Keep your pants on, Leon. Jeez, we're coming!" Sora muttered, slamming the trunk shut. Springing over the door into the back seat, he smiled. "How was school?"

"Yeah, I mean- Heeey!" Roxas exclaimed, frowning, as he went to go open the front passenger door. "There's already a spiky blond-haired kid in my seat!"

"...Yeah. Hi!" Cloud exclaimed cheerfully, smiling at the disgruntled eighth-grader.

Leon winced slightly. That was such a perky 'hi.' He was so _happy_ to see Sora and Roxas. ...He'd never be as happy to see him. Ever. He was too 'weird.'

Sora latched his arms around his elder brother's neck and smiled. "So are we going to the Book Bin now?"

"Unless you guys have other plans, yes," Leon answered, shrugging his arms off. "Come on, Roxas. Get in the back."

"Tch... Fine," Roxas muttered, choosing to spring over the door instead of open it as well.

Leon sighed, pulling the car out of park. "Seatbelts on."

"Seatbelts on!" Roxas and Sora chirped, smiling.

-x-x-x-

"Cloud, you can open your eyes now. Leon's turned the car off," Sora murmured soothingly, rubbing the Strife boy's shoulder.

"Hey, if he can't stand my driving, he could have screamed for me to stop so he could get out and walk. Come on; Merlin said he'd give you two some odd jobs for spare change," Leon stated, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Roxas grinned and began to drag Cloud out of his seat. "Come on! This is going to be one of the only times you get to see Leon in an apron! Come on!"

Cloud seemed to snap out of his daze at the word 'apron.' "Apron? Leon in an apron?" he asked, stepping out of the car quickly. For some reason, the words 'Leon' and 'in an apron' were oddly arousing.

"Yeah!" Sora answered, leading the way after his brother into the Book Bin. "It's light blue with pink embroidery! He actually looks kind of nice in it!"

"Or, as Sephiroth so aptly put it earlier, 'like a sexy piece of man-candy just waiting to be sucked,'" Roxas added, cringing. "Ugh, the thought of that guy on top of Leon--"

"Rape if anything!" Sora stated cheerfully, gaining all of the attention in the café portion of the store.

"...You should all be used to Sora by now. Get over it," Roxas ordered, waving them away.

Cloud crossed his arms and scowled. Of course Sephiroth would say that. The damn silver-haired college sophomore would say a lot of stuff like that if he wanted a lay. And who wouldn't want to lay Leon? Seriously. The guy was a god.

...But it was not a good idea to get an erection in a public place, so it was time to think about something he didn't like. Like his old mythology teacher, Maleficent. Or grapefruit.

"Leon! Leon, Tifa left this dough here and it's not finished yet and I don't know what else I have to put in iiit!" Kairi whined, tears springing to her eyes as the brown-haired junior tied the strings of his apron behind his back.

Leon groaned, sighing, then rested his hand on her head and gently ruffling her hair. She was new here; she wasn't comfortable in her job to believe she could make a mistake yet. "Calm down, Kairi. Let me see," he answered, finding a small spoon and sampling the dough. "Hmm... It still needs a cup of flour. Otherwise, it's fine. Okay? Here, I'll do the baking today; you work the register," he offered, taking the bowl from her hands.

The red-head squealed happily and hugged him, making him feel very uncomfortable but offer her a small smile nonetheless. "Thank you, Leon! I suck at baking!"

"No, you don't. You just need to practice," he answered, ruffling her hair again, before setting the bowl back on the counter and finishing the dough so he could bake it.

Cloud smiled. Leon could bake, too! He was amazing! He was strong (did that guy _really_ miss all of the stares he got in gym class? Seriously; even the _teachers_ stared), smart (straight A's! he even tutored people!), and good in the kitchen! ...Leon would be the best bride ever.

"Hey, Sora. How did Leon get that scar?" Cloud asked, running his finger across his own face in the direction of the scar, frowning.

Sora opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again, then looked at Roxas. Roxas glanced around frantically, then pointed at the closest set of shelves. "Look, Sora! New books!"

"New books? I _love_ new books, Roxas!" Sora answered, smiling at him appreciatively, before pointing at the shelves as well. "Let us expedite!"

Cloud watched the twins scamper away, blinking, then shrugged it off. 'Guess they really like books.'

Of course, Sora and Roxas never read anything more than what their classes assigned them.

-x-x-x-

Sephiroth sighed, tossing some of his long hair over his shoulder. Back for a week before having to go back to college. He'd gotten all of his work handed in and finished. ...Maybe he deserved a reward for that.

A reward named Squall Leonhart.

And judging that high school was out, the adorable brunet would be at the Book Bin. Changing his direction, he walked to the store-slash-café and smiled to himself. He couldn't wait to see the quiet teen again. As stoic as he appeared to be, he could say _just_ the right thing to make the boy blush like a school girl.

Stepping into the book store with the soft _'ding-a-ling' _of the bell on the door, he turned his gaze on the girl at the register. She locked eyes with him, 'eep'ed, and ran back to speak with a certain brunet. The brunet shot him a dirty look, patted the girl on the shoulder with one of his floury hands, then made his way toward the register.

Sephiroth smirked and walked up to the counter, resting his crossed arms on it as he leaned toward the agitated high school student. "Hey, beautiful. Long time no see."

"Order and leave," Leon ordered, ice hardened gaze chilling even more.

"Hmm... But it's been so long, lovely. I just wanted to see you..." the silver-haired man murmured, licking his lips. "...Maybe even taste you..."

"_Order. OR LEAVE,_" the brunet repeated through gritted teeth, eyes narrowing.

Sephiroth reached his hand out to gently tuck the other boy's long hair behind his ear to expose his intense stormy eyes better. "Haven't you missed me?"

Before the poor boy could respond, a battle-cry was heard. "KYAAAAAAAAA!"

Just like that, the college student was tackled by two eighth graders. Leon sighed and slapped a hand to his forehead as his brothers and bouncers threw the older man out of the store, causing a small cloud of flour to appear above his head, then turned and walked back to his cookie dough. Kairi tentatively went back to the register as Sora and Roxas walked back in, grinning broadly.

And Cloud fumed in his seat, glaring at the counter, absolutely _hating_ the silver-haired man that had touched his brunet.

-x-x-x-

"So Cloud's going to be our Leon for three days?" Sora asked, frowning. "He'll never survive."

"Hey! Where's the faith?!" Cloud exclaimed, scowling.

Roxas shrugged, sighing, as he walked over to the sink of Cloud's kitchen to get another glass of water. "No offense, Cloud, but, look around you," he ordered, waving his arm in a circle. "Your house is huge; we have a one-bedroom house. You work for Cid maybe three times a month; Leon works for Merlin every day for as many hours as he can. You do enough homework to get at least a B; Leon _strives_ to get his A's."

Cloud crossed his arms, pouting a little. "I could get an A if I wanted to."

"But that's the _point,_ Cloud!" Sora exclaimed. "You _don't_ want to! Your _parents_ will pay for your college! _Leon_ has to pay for--"

Roxas clapped his hands over his brother's mouth, growling. "Ix-nay on the oney-may!"

Sora blinked, then sighed and nodded. "Mm kmm."

"Good. Cloud, we have to go. Leon will throw a fit if we're not home doing our homework by six. See you tomorrow after school." Roxas rubbed the back of his head and grabbed his backpack. "Don't get freaked out when you have to work all day on Saturday."

"ALL DAY?!" Cloud exclaimed, eyes widening.

-x-x-x-

"_Why_ would Mr. Valentine pair me up with Cloud?! I don't understand!" Leon exclaimed, pulling at his hair anxiously as he paced the Kisaragi's kitchen floor. "He _must_ be a vampire! He must have read my mind and found out I liked Cloud and decided to _torture_ me-- But wait. I haven't _done_ anything to him!" The brunet let out a whine. "What did I do _wrong?!_"

"...Or he could have, you know, just picked you two randomly," Yuffie stated, rolling her eyes as she crossed her fingers behind her back.

The junior turned a glare on her. "Or it could be _your_ fault."

The 'Great Ninja' looked appalled that he'd even _suggest_ such a conclusion. "_Leon!_ I'm _surprised_ at you! How could you say such a thing?!"

He sighed and crossed his arms as he slumped into the chair next to her. "I wouldn't put it past you to find some way of finagling Mr. Valentine into it."

"Please, I've got better things to do with my time," she replied, waving it away as she once again crossed her fingers behind her back. "You think I spend my free time thinking up plots to make you miserable?"

"Yes," he muttered, scowling slightly.

Yuffie scowled back at him. "You're so mean!"

"Whatever."

She huffed and crossed her arms, then tossed her head slightly to get her bangs out of her eyes. "Well, fine. ...Shouldn't you be getting home to check if Sora and Roxas are doing their homework by now?"

Leon waved it away carelessly. "I check on them a lot. If I skip a few days, they'll get paranoid and be too afraid to be late. I need _some_ sort of revenge for all of their embarrassing antics."

"And what do you do when I embarrass you?"

"...I refuse to cook for you, duh," he answered, rolling his eyes.

"That's so mean!"

"Whatever."

"Gah, I _hate_ when you use that as a comeback! How am I supposed to retaliate!?" she cried, hitting him on the arm.

He rolled his eyes again and sighed, unable to help a small smile. "Use your brain?"

"Oh, you!" she exclaimed angrily, then tackled him out of his chair. Of course, this attack turned against her when he began to tickle her. "Eek! Okay, I give, I'm sorry!"

"Better be," he muttered, smiling. "I guess I probably _should_ be getting home. I need to make dinner before Sora and Roxas decide to make it themselves."

Yuffie shuddered. Last time Sora and Roxas had cooked... Let's just say it didn't end well.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Leon shut the door of the large house and looked around nervously. He'd met Mr. and Mrs. Strife yesterday, and they seemed nice enough, but... he was still a little uneasy. They'd actually seemed _ecstatic _to meet him, and it was a little alarming, to say the least. Well, at least he was able to see where Cloud got his kindness and integrity from.

Cloud had been a little more than confused when he met Leon's boss yesterday and nothing more. Sora had come up with the excuse that their dad was out of town on a business trip. Under his breath he'd added 'for the last few years.'

As deep in financial trouble as the Leonharts were, they refused to tell anyone. After all, they were a proud family, like the lions they were so aptly named for, and knew that if anyone found out about their monetary difficulty, they'd be on the receiving end of people's pity and charity. The Leonharts didn't _take_ charity; they _gave_ charity.

Leon tended to work long days during November and December to not only pay bills, but to also buy a decent turkey for thanksgiving and a ham and tree for Christmas. All in all, he took maybe two days off during Christmas break; one to shop for Sora and Roxas's gifts, a gift for his father when he returned home for a week after the new year, and another day to buy some toys for the Giving Tree. The Giving Tree day he also spent wandering around, carrying Yuffie's Christmas bags as she shopped for her own family, and he dropped fifty cents in any Salvation Army can he saw; sometimes he did it twice to one of the cans without thinking.

It was a tradition that, though mostly reclusive, Leon was known for. In fact, some teachers that were leaving the city until school started again often gave him some of their extra change. He was always happy to do the charity for them; he enjoyed making people less fortunate have a decent holiday.

And in the summers, he often spent each Sunday evening at the closest soup kitchen. Lots of homeless people showed up on Sundays; Leon's cooking was, after all, the best.

"Leon? Are you home?"

Leon jumped, clutching his satchel's strap tightly, before turning as Cloud's mother stepped through a door he could see led to the kitchen. "Uh... Yeah," he answered softly, looking down at his feet.

"Good! You're just in time to try these cookies!" she exclaimed, smiling, before leading him into the kitchen.

Leon tilted his head. He'd always been the one who had to cook; after the 'Red XIII' incident, he'd banned Sora and Roxas from using the stove. ...And the knives. And the microwave. ...Basically, they got to use plates and eating utensils for whatever food he decided to cook. Needless to say, their cat, Nanaki, was very grateful.

It might be sort of nice to be the one being cooked for.

-x-x-x-

"Cloud, what's for dinner?" Sora asked, looking up at his 'big brother.'

Cloud blinked, stunned. "Dinner?"

Roxas nodded. "Yeah. Leon makes dinner for us every day, and then after we watch Bones, he gets us some ice-cream and then we go to bed."

"...Dinner..." Cloud repeated, looking down at his lap. "Um... I'll try."

Stepping into the immaculate kitchen, he stopped, stunned once again. It was beautiful. Leon had made sure to leave it in pristine condition. And was that a cat sleeping in the napkin basket?

The cat looked up at him, startled, as if to say, "WHERE'S MY LEON!?" It then jumped to its feet, fur bristling and poofing out in agitation, and hissed.

"Uh... I don't think your cat likes me," Cloud called back to the twins, frowning.

Sora sighed. "Then that means you can't cook. Come on; let's order pizza. You can drop us by Starbucks tomorrow and we'll grab something to eat and walk the rest of the way. Leon says that if he's gone, Nanaki's in charge of the kitchen; if Nanaki doesn't like you, you don't get to cook."

Cloud sighed as well. "That's probably the best idea. I don't want to be the one to burn your house down."

As Cloud went to the phone to order pizza, Sora turned to Roxas and whispered, "He's gonna figure out about our money problem. I _know_ he's not going to react like Yuffie did!"

Roxas sighed and rubbed his temples. "Yeah, well, can't say he doesn't deserve to know. I mean, we both know he's got a _huge_ crush on Leon."

"True," Sora answered, smiling cheerfully. "I mean, did you see the way his eyes lit up when you told him Leon was in an apron?"

"How much you wanna bet that he'd absolutely _drool_ if we gave him pictures of Leon in his swim trunks?"

"Leon in swim trunks?" Cloud asked, appearing between them. "I want to see Leon in swim trunks!"

"...Uh..." Roxas rubbed the back of his head. "I don't think Leon would like--"

"Give us five bucks and we'll let you keep a copy of the photo," Sora stated, smiling.

Cloud didn't even have to stop to think as he reached for his wallet. "Show me all of the pictures you have of him and give you ten."

"What, so you can pick and choose?" Sora asked, frowning. "Make it twenty! And any other pictures you want are gonna cost you extra!"

Roxas sighed sadly as he watched the money change hands, then flopped onto the couch and turned on the TV. 'Leon's _not_ gonna be happy about this...'

-x-x-x-

"So, Leon," Mr. Strife (but please, call him Daniel) asked, waving his fork as he spoke around the potatoes in his mouth. "What do your parents do?"

"Don't talk with your mouth full, Daniel! It's rude!" Mrs. Strife (but that made her feel old, so pretty please with a cherry on top call her Christine) exclaimed, scowling at him.

Leon sighed. "It's okay. My brothers talk with their mouths full all the time. I'm used to it."

Christine fumed a little, then turned back to her husband. "Well fine, I won't use you as an excuse. Daniel, it's disgusting! If you keep talking with your mouth full, I won't let you have my cooking anymore!"

The sandy blond-haired man blinked, then swallowed, cleared his throat, and turned to Leon again. "So... What do your parents do?"

The brunet looked down at his plate and began moving his food around so it didn't touch, like he often did when he was nervous. "Well... My father travels for this company, gathering information about certain places. I think the place is some sort of travel agency or something. I don't know much about it; I just know what he does. My mother, well... She died giving birth to my brothers."

Christine gasped, tears coming to her eyes. "Oh, you poor dear! Come here!"

Leon let out a yelp as he was suddenly yanked into a strong hug. Damn, that tiny lady was stronger than she looked! But oh, that hug was so comforting and warm...

He'd never had a lot of motherly affection; when his dad had started traveling, Merlin had taken care of them. When he was old enough, he helped to take care of Sora and Roxas. The only affection he ever got was a pat on the head from Merlin, or snuggling with Sora and Roxas. Even then, the snuggling only happened when Sora and Roxas initiated it.

Wait... What was that on his cheeks? He... couldn't be crying, could he? Reaching up unconsciously he found that he was, indeed, crying. He hadn't cried since he was seven; he hadn't been able to for fear of Roxas and Sora worrying about him.

"Just cry it out, honey... It's okay..." she murmured soothingly.

Normally, he'd yank away and try to forget the event had ever happened, but Christine was just so nice... that all he wanted to do was cry.

So he did.

-x-x-x-

"Cloud! Come on!" Sora exclaimed, frowning. "You gotta come tuck us in!"

Cloud groaned, too tired to respond coherently. "Gmm fumuh..." Working in the Book Bin kitchen had not been fun. His food was barely edible and his arms ached from the stirring. No wonder Leon had such muscular arms.

"Cloooud!"

"Move, Sora," Roxas muttered, shoving his twin to the side. Grabbing the other blond's legs, he yanked. "No sleep until we're tucked in!"

Cloud yelped as he hit the ground with a thud. "Owie! Jeez, guys!" He rubbed the back of his head, wincing. "Aren't you a little _old_ to be tucked in?"

"NEVAH!" Sora exclaimed, pointing at the ceiling, before scampering toward the bedroom.

"Yeah! _Leon_ always tucks us in!" Roxas added, choosing to just walk. "But, if you really wanna fail your psychology assignment..."

"I'm coming, I'm _coming!_ You monsters..." Cloud sent them a small glare, then trudged into the room after them. "Blackmailing me to freakin' _tuck you in..._"

Sora scowled. "Just shut up and tuck us in already."

The older boy sighed, scowling a little, then glanced at the two eighth graders snuggled up to each other. "So... Leon still tucks you guys in? Why?" When the pair simply stared at him, he sighed and rolled his eyes, tucking the sheets back under the mattress so they were snug, but not too snug. "Whatever. Goodnight."

As Cloud turned to walk away, Sora reached out and snagged the back of his shirt. "Wait! You didn't check under the bed or in the closet! And you have to close the closet door, too!"

Cloud sighed again, frowning, though he couldn't help but feel a little amused. "What am I checking for?"

"Heartless!" Roxas exclaimed, clutching his pillow protectively.

"Heartless?"

"Yeah! If you don't check, they might come out in the middle of the night and steal our hearts!" Sora exclaimed.

"What do Heartless look like? And how do they fit under your bed? It's just a mattress on the floor," Cloud murmured, sighing as he lifted the edge of the mattress.

Roxas sighed, as if explaining to a child. "They can flatten themselves into the ground and move around like that, slipping under anything."

"Yeah! And they're black and have glowing yellow eyes that you can see from anywhere! They look kind of like big, evil ants!" Sora added, nodding.

"Okay. Well, I don't see any Heartless under your bed." Cloud stood and walked over to the closet. Looking inside the closet carefully for glowing yellow eyes he knew weren't there, he nodded slowly. "Nope, not seeing them in your closet, either. Looks like you two are safe for tonight," he stated, smiling at the twins.

They both smiled at him. "Okay. Goodnight!"

And just like that, they fell to sleep.

The blond high school student smiled and crossed his arms, shaking his head as he gazed at the two younger boys. So there _was_ a gooey warm center to the bitter dark chocolate man known as Leon. At least, he had to have one to act so uncaring around his brothers in public only to come home and check for 'Heartless' so the pair could sleep peacefully.

'I wonder...' he sighed, frowning. 'How's Leon doing without his brothers?'

-x-x-x-

Leon paced 'his' room anxiously. He didn't go to bed this early. How could Cloud handle it? Just laying in bed, waiting for sleep?

He couldn't do it. He just couldn't.

Slipping out of the room silently, he went about exploring the large house. When a board creaked under his bare feet, he winced; crap, it was an _old_ large house. He sighed and continued walking. Maybe he'd watch TV after getting a glass of water. That way he wouldn't disturb Cloud's parents.

On his way back up to Cloud's room, glass of water in hand, something furry brushed past his leg. An uncharacteristic squeak escaped his lips. 'Nanaki!?'

But Nanaki was at home with Sora and Roxas. ...So what the hell was that!?

Creeping to the door, he flipped the light on and peeked inside. A large black and gray dog was laying at the foot of Cloud's bed, looking very melancholy. Leon sighed. 'I know just how he feels...' He missed Nanaki. The large red cat would fall asleep on his chest, or at his feet, or once, even on his head. Nanaki probably missed him too.

He stepped inside and closed the door, taking a sip of his water. "Heya, buddy. What's your name?"

The dog lifted its head, quirking it innocently, as if to say, 'You talkin' to me?'

He smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I'm talking to you." He reached out and grabbed the license tag. "Reeve, huh? Well, hey, Reeve. I'm Leon. I'm gonna be here tomorrow instead of Cloud, too. Sorry I'm replacing your friend for a few days."

He lay on the bed and sighed, flipping on the TV to some weird talk show. Reeve paused, as if thinking about something, before sighing and laying his head on the brunet's leg. He reached down and stroked Reeve's head. It was going to be a long day tomorrow. And then they still had Saturday.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Cloud... Are you okay...?" Aerith asked softly in concern.

Cloud groaned, not bothering to raise his head from his desk. "I'm so _tired!_"

"Oh, why?"

"Because Leon works for five hours on weekdays and works all day Saturdaaaay," he whined, yanking on one of his spikes.

"But... you've only lived one day in his life so far," she murmured, tilting her head.

"That's just the thing, Aerith!" He looked up at her tiredly. "He does it everyday! Work, work, work! If I didn't know any better, I'd say he's paying for every single bill that family has!"

"Um... Cloud...?" Yuffie asked, frowning, as she began looking through the blond's backpack for a spare pencil. Pulling out a few photos, she raised an eyebrow. "...What are these?"

Cloud blinked at her innocently, then smiled. "Photos of Leon!"

Tifa raised an eyebrow. "...Why do you have photos of Leon?"

"Leon in swim trunks! I thought he _burned_ those photos!" Yuffie gasped, covering her mouth. "_And_ the negatives! Oh, Cloud, how did you _get_ these!?"

"I paid Sora for them!" he answered, looking through the photos with her.

Yuffie gasped again and let out an excited shriek. "Leon with his moomba pajamas!"

"_WHAT!?_"

Leon, having just walked in, lost his cool façade for possibly the first time in his high school career, ran over, ripped the photos from the 'ninja's' hands, and stared at them in disbelief, then glared at the younger girl. "What the hell, Yuffie?! You don't just go around flaunting personal photos of somebody! What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Yuffie held her hands up and waved them defensively. "Hey, hey! Those aren't even my photos! They're Cloud's!"

Leon turned his head sharply, eyes widening as he stared at the blond. "Is that true?"

Cloud blushed and looked down at the top of his desk, doodling on his paper timidly. "...Yeah... Sora gave them to me..."

The surprise and hope in the brunet's eyes immediately flared to anger, humiliation, and pain. "Oh, so they just feel they _have_ to embarrass me, huh?! Why would you do that to me, Cloud?! I mean, I know they're your friends and I'm not, but I-- I don't _get it!_ Axel! _Axel!_" Turning his attention to the hallway, Leon turned, tears beginning to well up in his eyes.

Axel and Riku turned toward him in confusion, standing up from leaning against their lockers. The red-haired freshmen tilted his head. "What?"

Leon thrust the photos at him. "Burn these!"

Axel fumbled to grab the photos, wincing, then looked at them in confusion. "But... why?"

"It doesn't matter, Axel, just _burn them!_" Leon snarled, then stalked down the hall away from his classroom.

"Leon, wait! That's not what it's like!" Cloud exclaimed, finally making his way out of the classroom.

"Bite me, Strife!" Leon snapped over his shoulder, tears beginning to well up in his eyes again, before he stormed out of the school building and headed toward... well, he _was_ going to head toward the Book Bin, but then he realized, Merlin wouldn't let him work if he was supposed to be in school. He was _going_ to head toward his house, except then he remembered the stupid psychology project. He was _about_ to go to Cloud's house, but then he felt uncomfortable, because it really wasn't his house.

Leon stopped walking, tears beginning to drip over his eyelids and down his cheeks helplessly. He had nowhere to go. He had no one to talk to. What was he supposed to do if he wasn't in school and couldn't go anywhere?

He let out an uncharacteristic shriek as a car pulled up beside him and honked, then turned around, glaring at the driver. "What the hell!"

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow, frowning. "Squall? Are you crying?"

Leon turned and wiped his eyes quickly, growling. "No-! I... I just got something in my eye!"

"...Both of them?" the silver-haired man asked.

Leon looked down at his feet and sighed, giving up on trying to wipe away his tears. "...Yes..."

Sephiroth sighed, brows furrowing together, before leaning over slightly so he was leaning on the armrest of his seat. "Do you need a ride somewhere, Squall?"

After a few minutes' pause, he nodded slowly and sniffed, looking toward the college student. "Would you drive me to the florist?"

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow in surprise. "...I suppose..."

"And would it be too much trouble to ask you to drive me to the cemetery?" Leon added timidly, rubbing his arm.

Sephiroth sighed, shaking his head, then smiled and reached over, pushing the passenger side door open. "Get in."

-x-x-x-

Axel blinked at the photos in his hands in surprise, then glanced up at Riku. "Uh..."

"Those are mine!" Yuffie exclaimed, snatching the photos back, before running back into the classroom as Cloud stared down the hallway after Leon helplessly.

"...I'm... going to call Sora," Riku stated, flipping out his cell phone.

"Good idea," Axel answered, knowing that if anyone knew anything, it was Sora.

Riku sighed, listening to the ring tone for a few seconds, before smirking as Sora finally answered. "Hey, Sora. ...No, I'm _not_ calling to tell you I'm going to help you with your math. If you want help, ask me yourself. No! I don't want to talk about your-- You know what, you know what?! Shut up and let me talk!"

Axel snorted, then covered his mouth and looked away as the taller boy glared at him. "Sorry."

"Sora, Leon just shoved some photos into Axel's hands and told him to burn them. ...No, Yuffie said they were _hers._ Paid for 'em, huh? ...No, I get it. No, Yuffie stole them back before Axel had the chance. _NO,_ Roxas cannot speak with Axel on my phone! ...Good-_bye,_ Sora."

Riku snapped his phone shut and scowled. "Apparently Cloud paid for those photos of Leon. Sora said he made fifty bucks."

"Hey, I have photos of Leon in just a towel, soaking wet, and do you see me selling those?" Axel asked, crossing his arms and frowning. "I mean, seriously! That's kind of stupid, even for Sora's standards!"

"...Cloud? Why are you looking at us like that?" Riku asked in alarm, seeing as the blond had snapped his attention to them.

"How much would you take for it?"

Axel blinked at him, then scowled. "What the hell?! I'm not selling you any photos! I've got _morals,_ ya know!"

Cloud tilted his head. "Fifty bucks?"

Axel opened his mouth, scowling, then closed it again. "...Make it sixty."

"_Axel!_ You said you had _morals!_" Riku exclaimed, spinning toward the red-head.

Axel shrugged helplessly. "We need all the money we can get, Riku. ...And _no,_ I do _not_ want your fucking charity! At least in some sick, twisted way, I've earned the money!"

Riku sighed, then turned and slammed his head against his locker.

-x-x-x-

"Here you go; a dozen pink carnations," Irvine stated, handing the bouquet to Leon before he could even ask.

"...Why do you do that?" Leon asked, frowning.

Irvine raised an eyebrow and frowned, flicking his hat up slightly. "Squall, you order the same thing every time you come in. Calm down."

Leon rolled his eyes, reaching for his wallet, only to squeak in surprise as Sephiroth handed the designated amount to Irvine before he could. "What are you doing?! No! You're giving me a ride; that's more than enough!"

Sephiroth smacked his hands away carelessly. "Stop it, Squall. Just let me do something for you, okay?"

Leon scowled, then crossed his arms and looked away, blushing. "Humph."

Irvine tilted his head as he took the money, frowning, then sighed and shook his head. "Finally decided to get out into the dating world, Squall?"

"We're not dating!" Leon snapped, glaring at him.

Before a fight could ensue, Sephiroth grabbed Leon's free hand and led him toward the door. "Come on, Squall."

Leon blushed, unable to bring himself to pull his hand away, then looked away quickly. "Sephiroth... You didn't have to pay for me..."

"I wanted to," Sephiroth answered, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze, before turning and opening the car door for him.

He blushed a little more and scowled. "I don't need to be babied!"

Sephiroth smiled, pulling him a little closer with his hand, then released his hand and wrapped his arm around the brunet's shoulders. "You know, you're really cute when you're unsure of yourself."

Leon scowled. "Shut up!"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"...So..." Sephiroth questioned, glancing at the younger boy in his passenger seat. "Why a dozen pink carnations?"

Leon shrugged absentmindedly and began playing with the petals one of the flowers. "Mom liked pink carnations. I didn't have anywhere else to go, so... I thought I'd go visit my mom."

"...Oh... Sorry..."

"It's not like it still hurts or anything," Leon mumbled, sighing. "She died fourteen years ago. I was only two or three at the time. I only feel bad that Sora and Roxas didn't get to know her. They need a mother figure."

"Why? They've got you, haven't they?" Sephiroth asked, smirking. When the brunet failed to answer (instead giving him his Ultimate Death Glare of Doom), he continued. "You'd make a perfect bride. You can cook, you have a nurturing side-- don't deny it, Squall, I've seen the way you baby Sora and Roxas when they're having a bad day--, you like to keep things clean, and you're beautiful."

Leon scowled and looked back at the blush-colored flowers. "Bride, right... Like anyone would want _me..._"

Sephiroth smiled as he turned into the parking lot. "I'd marry you."

Leon winced, eyes widening, before turning and slapping the silver-haired man across the face. "_Pervert!_"

Though his cheek was stinging and he had just been turned down again, Sephiroth couldn't help but laugh; it was so _easy_ to get the brunet to blush!

-x-x-x-

"How'd Leon see the pictures, huh?!" Sora exclaimed, glaring at Cloud.

Cloud pointed at Yuffie helplessly. Yuffie huffed and crossed her arms. "I was just looking for a pencil and then BOOM! Photos of Leon! What was I supposed to do, ignore them?"

"I knew that giving him photos was a bad idea..." Roxas sighed, shaking his head. "And now Leon's going to be mad at _us_ for giving him the photos--"

"We made a profit!" Sora stated indignantly, pointing into the air as his other hand rested on his hip. "He should be proud for getting money just for looking hot!"

Riku raised an eyebrow, then sighed, shaking his head. "Sora, that's not the point; he thought Cloud was making fun of him."

"Why would he think a stupid thing like that?" the brunet asked, tilting his head.

Roxas blinked at him, then sighed, shaking his head. "Sometimes I hate you. Come on, Sora; we need to go find him. _You--_" He turned to Cloud. "-Need to go to the Book Bin. 'Kay?"

Cloud sighed and crossed his arms, turning his gaze on the sky. "Does your brother _ever_ take a break?"

"On our birthdays!" Sora answered cheerfully.

"Valentine's Day, Spring Break, and weekends during the summer," Roxas added, nodding as he thought to himself.

Yuffie grinned and waved her hand in the air, as if waiting for a teacher to call on her when she _really_ had to go to the bathroom. "My birthday, too!"

"Takes the day off for Kairi and Naminé's birthday, too," Axel added. "Offered to take the day off for mine, too, but I told him if he got me a few new lighters for my gift, it was all good."

"He offered to take the day off for my birthday, too, but I knew he didn't really want to; Seph is always there," Riku sighed, crossing his arms. "I told him he didn't have to come as long as he at least wished me a happy birthday in the halls or something."

Yuffie frowned and rubbed her chin, pondering all of the information just shared. "Huh. I never really thought about it, but for all the time he works, he _does_ take a lot of time off to make up for it."

"This is true," Roxas stated, nodding. "That's because when Dad comes home for New Year with us, he begs Leon to spend more time being a kid instead of an adult. Hey! Dad said he may be getting a raise next year!" The blond squealed in delight at his own words.

Sora squealed as well. "Yay! That means less work for Leon!" The twins hugged each other. "And more yummy Leon Food!"

"...Hey, guys?" Cloud asked suddenly, frowning in thought.

"Hmm?"

"...Why does he go by 'Leon?'"

At this question, Riku and Axel burst out laughing. Riku leaned one arm on the shorter boy's shoulder for support, the other wrapping around his stomach as it began to ache from laughing so hard. Axel held his stomach with one arm as well, using his free hand to rest on his thigh so he could stay standing. Cloud frowned; how could the reason be that funny?

Roxas looked at his feet, blushing a little. "Well... That's sort of our fault..."

Sora scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly. "I said that Squall sounded like a hippy name because it meant rainstorm, and started teasing him about it."

"Yeah, and I started teasing him too, and then this lady got a really disgusted look on her face and stormed out of the Book Bin. Apparently she had a thing against hippies or something. Anyway, Leon got all embarrassed, and we felt kind of bad..."

"So... We only call him Squall when it's something serious," Sora finished, blushing a little as well now. "I think he's still embarrassed."

Cloud nodded slightly, smirking a little as he imagined an embarrassed Leon. Seeing Leon embarrassed because of Sephiroth was one thing; seeing him completely humiliated because of being teased was something completely different. It would be adorable.

"...Hey... Did we all forget that we actually need to _find_ Leon?" Yuffie asked suddenly, frowning.

There was a few seconds' pause before all of the boys let out a collective, "SHIT!" and scattered.

Yuffie sighed, shaking her head, then started toward the cemetery. "Boys."

-x-x-x-

Leon gently stroked the cool marble of his mother's headstone and sighed, tracing the curvy letters carved into the stone. "...I wish Sora and Roxas got to know you, Mom. I mean, I can't remember much, but what I do remember..."

He sighed, letting his head fall forward as he closed his eyes. He really couldn't remember much about his mother. What he _did_ remember, however, was wonderful; soft lullabies and chocolate chip cookies and rubbing his back when he felt sick. He tried to do all of that for his little brothers, he really did, but sometimes he just couldn't stand the pressure. ...He wasn't even sure he was doing everything right!

"_You'd make a perfect bride."_

Leon squeaked softly and opened his eyes again, blushing. Sephiroth could be so _embarrassing_ sometimes! He was _so_ glad Riku didn't make him take the day off for his birthday! ...So glad, in fact, that he always baked him two batches of snicker doodles-- that kid _loved_ his snicker doodles-- and a batch of chocolate chip cookies-- they came in second, which is weird, because almost _everyone_ wanted his chocolate chip cookies over anything else he baked. ...Did he mention that each batch consisted of three dozen cookies?

Yeah, he gave the silver-haired boy one hundred and eight cookies.

"I _thought_ I'd find you here," Yuffie stated matter-of-factly, smiling as she came upon him.

Leon sighed and stood up, brushing the dirt from the knees of his jeans. "Do you think I'm doing a good job? You know, taking care of Sora and Roxas?"

The 'ninja' frowned, crossing her arms, before shrugging. "_I_ think you're doing a great job playing 'Mom.' I mean, come on; have you ever seen them ask for anything more than what you give them?"

Leon shrugged and sighed again, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Like they ever _would._ And I mean, look at me; I'm wearing my _dad's_ old clothes," he stated, pulling at his overly large t-shirt. "They probably think I don't want to pay for anything I don't have to."

Yuffie frowned, lower lip jutting out slightly in thought. "Hmm... Well, if we want Sora and Roxas to be able to ask you for things, we've got to get you some new clothes."

"Hey, I like these. They're comfy," Leon complained, frowning and hugging himself.

"And _way_ too big for you. Besides, you want Cloud to notice you, right?"

"He _does_ notice me! ...Whenever he's hanging out with Sora and Roxas, anyway..."

"_Exactly!_" Yuffie exclaimed, grabbing his arm. "You want him to notice you for _you!_ Right? Right! So, you need to get something that will make him pay attention to you! Something that looks _sexy!_"

Leon frowned, sighing, then led her out of the cemetery. "If you haven't noticed, I don't exactly have money to burn on a fancy wardrobe. And last time I checked, sexy was expensive."

"Which is when- DUN DUH DUH DUH!- we call Riku!" she answered cheerfully, pulling out her cell phone.

He scowled. "Yuffie! I'm not going to ask him to buy things for me! If I want something, I'll buy it myself!"

"Hi, Riku?" Yuffie asked sweetly, totally ignoring the brunet (Leon huffed and crossed his arms as he looked away from her. Figures. She never _did_ listen to him.). "Yeah, this is Yuffie! I found Leon! Listen, I've got a favor to ask-- Oh, wait. Sora's not with you, is he? Oh, he split up with Roxas? ...Wait, so who are you with? Axel? Ah...

"Well, anyway, I've got a favor to ask. I've decided Leon needs a make-over--"

"WHAT!"

"And he needs a sexy new wardrobe, but what I have in mind doesn't come cheap, so-- What do you mean, why should you!? You want to help Leon get together with Cloud, don't you?! Yeah, that's what I thought. Meet us at the mall, okay? Okay, buh-bye!"

Leon scowled and grabbed shoulder, shaking her slightly. "You never said anything about a make-over! Just maybe some new clothes! What the hell--"

"You have to admit, Leon, that you need a haircut," Yuffie stated, frowning. "I mean, look at your hair! It keeps getting in your eyes! You need a cut that frames your pretty face!"

"And shows off my ugly scar!" he added, looking down at the ground quickly. "Yeah, I _really_ want everyone to see this huge gash across my face--"

"It just makes you look sexier, Leon!" she answered, waving it away.

"Oh, yeah, right!" he snapped, huffing angrily.

-x-x-x-

"You really think Leon's gonna come out in the outfits you chose?" Axel asked, raising an eyebrow.

Yuffie sighed sadly and frowned. "No. But it was worth a shot, right?"

Riku rolled his eyes, then looked back toward the door of the dressing room, which had been oddly silent. "Leon, you okay in there, buddy?"

"...Yeah..."

"Hey, do you hate Yuffie's outfits yet?"

"Yeah..."

"Open the door. I can probably salvage something."

"What?!" Yuffie exclaimed indignantly.

Riku turned toward her and frowned, placing his hands on his hips. "Sephiroth is gay. Do you know how many times he's asked me about his outfits before he left for school? I'm practically fashion _guru_ now. Leon, unlock the door." There was a sigh before the lock clicked and Riku disappeared into the dressing room.

Axel glanced at Yuffie and frowned. "Think he might actually get an outfit put together for him?"

Yuffie sighed again. "I don't know. Leon's picky."

"Uh, if you haven't noticed, _Sephiroth_ is picky too!" Riku exclaimed from behind the door.

"...Yeah, I think he might get _something_ decent," Yuffie finally answered, glancing up at the red-head.

"Cool. I think it's awesome that he's actually going after Cloud now. And of course, sexy Leon will just be better man candy," Axel added, tilting his head. "Cloud may actually have competition."

Yuffie squealed and clasped her hands together. "Oh, I would love that!"

"YES!" Riku exclaimed, and they could tell he was punching the air above him in triumph. "Oh yeah! I can take _anything_ and make it look sexy!"

"Show me! Show me!" Yuffie exclaimed anxiously, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"No. Wait, Riku, I said no! RIKU!" Leon squeaked as he was shoved out of the dressing room, then blushed, crossing his arms as he looked away in embarrassment.

Axel and Yuffie both gaped, as Leon was, indeed, now an even sexier piece of man candy. Riku had taken a pair of black leather pants (which clung to the brunet in _all_ of the right places), a tight muscle shirt (who knew Leon had such defined abs and pecs?!), and a black, short sleeved leather jacket with white fur on the collar (insert faint here!). Everything complimented everything else.

Yuffie was the first to react with a high pitched squeal of delight. "Yummy! Oh, Leon, you look so sexy! Cloud won't be able to keep his hands _off_ of you!"

Axel couldn't help but add his two cents. "_Damn,_ Leonhart! You're just a walking piece of muscular ass, aren't you?!"

Leon blushed a little more and looked down at his outfit. "...So it doesn't look bad...?"

"You're walkin' _sex,_ man! Of course it doesn't look bad!" Riku exclaimed, grinning.

"...I don't know..." Leon rubbed the back of his head. "It's all sort of expensive..."

Riku's grin widened. "Dude! I'm _so_ paying for this! I would _love_ to take credit for making you a walking sex machine!"

"You know, his outfit is missing something," Axel stated suddenly, frowning.

Yuffie paused, blinking, then sighed, now noticing it as well. "Yeah... You know what?! He's missing _accessories!_"

"Accessories?! No, Yuffie! No! _No! NO!_"

"It's on me, man!" Riku answered, grabbing one of the brunet's wrists as Yuffie grabbed the other before dragging him toward a rack of belts. "We need to make you sexy for Cloud, right?"

"...I hate you," Leon answered weakly.

"Keep complainin' man, but I think you look awesome," Axel stated, smiling.

Leon yelped as both Riku and Yuffie suddenly started wrapping belts around his waist, then scowled. "What the hell?! I only need one belt!"

"No, two finish the outfit!" Riku answered, ignoring the older boy's agitation. He then dragged him over to a jewelry counter.

Leon _had_ to put his foot down then. "NO! Fucking _ass,_ Riku! You are _not_ buying jewelry for me!" He jerked his thumb at his neck. "I've got Griever and that's all I need!"

Riku sighed, then pulled the necklace out from under his shirt. "_Fine._ But you actually have to show it!"

"Grr-! I hate you guys!" he exclaimed, stomping back over to the dressing room.

"...Everyone is _so_ going to be drooling over him tomorrow," Riku stated, smirking and crossing his arms.

Yuffie nodded in agreement, a dreamy sigh escaping her lips. "Yeah... You're going to buy him more outfits like that, right? I mean, he can't have just that one."

"Oh hells yes."

Axel frowned, blinking up at Riku contemplatively, before finally asking, "Are you sure some of Sephiroth's gayness didn't rub off on you? Because, no offense, but just a few seconds ago? Yeah, that was total Gay right there."

"...I'm going to kill you," Riku answered, eyebrow twitching.

"Heh!" Axel smiled helplessly, then took off at a sprint toward the door.

"Yeah, you better run!" Riku exclaimed, shaking a fist after him.

Yuffie smiled. "It's cute how much you like each other."

Riku blinked, stopping mid-fist shake, then blushed and turned to glare at her. "I'm _not_ gay!"

"Keep telling yourself that, sweetie," she answered, waving it away.

"Can't wait to see him tomorrow at school, though," Riku added, nodding.

Yuffie smiled and nodded. "It'll be so great! Everyone will finally see how sexy he is and will be _all_ over him!"

"Yeah. I mean, I'm straight, but if I had a chance, then hells yes I'd go gay for him." He smiled cheerfully. "Of course, what makes it all better is that he's got his eyes on _one_ person!"

"But then..." Yuffie sighed sadly and crossed her arms. "He'll probably be so hurt that he had to change his appearance to get Cloud to notice him that he'll play hard to get..."

"Good. Serves chocobo butt right," Riku muttered, shrugging. "I mean, I had to get him into _leather._"

"Pleather, actually," Yuffie stated, nodding slightly to herself. "I mean, Leon probably doesn't want anybody to know, but he _loves_ animals. All that leather you got him into? Yeah, it's fake. ...And I don't think he'd ever forgive you if you bought him _real_ leather. He just cares that much."

"So why does he only have a cat?"

"Nanaki takes care of himself. If they got a dog-- and Leon _really_ wants a Dalmatian puppy, believe me-- they'd need to be home a lot more than they are. Leon thinks he can't afford that."

"He's probably right. But hey, with the people who are going to be throwing themselves at him tomorrow, he could probably guilt people into giving him money."

"Riku!" Yuffie exclaimed, hitting the taller boy in the arm. "You're such a jerk sometimes!"

"I was just kidding, Yuffie! Calm down!"

-x-x-x-

"So let me get this straight," Paine sighed, closing her eyes and resting her forehead against the tips of her fingers in annoyance. "You want me to just cut his hair so it frames his face. You don't want it shortened or anything. You just want it cropped a little in the front. You do _not_ want his hair shortened. Do I have that correct?"

"...Yeah, that sounds about right," Yuffie answered, nodding thoughtfully.

Leon frowned at the taller girl apologetically. "Sorry, Paine. I normally wouldn't do this to you, but--"

"Whatever. I'm the only one you know that would cut your hair for free, I know," she answered, managing a smile for him. It soon turned into a smirk. "And I'm happy to help if it means getting you together with Strife."

"Is that all you guys ever think about?! Getting me together with Cloud?! Don't you have _lives?!_" Leon exclaimed, eyebrow twitching slightly.

Paine simply sprayed him in the face with a spray bottle. "Shut up and stop moving so I can cut your hair the way Yuffie wants it."

He scowled and muttered, "You're all against me."

"Of course we are, Leon. That's only because we care about you, though!" Yuffie answered, smiling.

"I still don't understand why you didn't just let me pay for a professional haircut while we were at it. I bought you everything else..." Riku murmured, frowning.

"Paine's the only one who can cut my hair right," Leon answered, shrugging.

Paine snorted softly. "I'm the only one who can cut _any_ of the Leonhart boys' hair right."

"Yeah, Sora went to a professional once, and--" Yuffie began, then burst out laughing.

Riku raised an eyebrow as she soon fell to the floor, then smiled at Paine. "I see. Sorry to bother you then."

"Well, while you two were yapping, I finished," Paine answered, taking a step back.

"Wow, that was fast," Riku murmured, frowning.

"You just wanted it to frame his face." She frowned at him and narrowed her eyes, showing just how impatient she was getting. "It only took a few minutes, considering I wanted his hair out of his face, too. You may leave now, Leon."

Leon stood and flipped his slightly damp, shorter hair out of his face. "Thanks, Paine."

"No problem. See you on Sunday."

As they were walking out, Yuffie looked up at the brunet and tilted her head innocently. "What are you doing on Sunday?"

Leon smiled at her. "I'm helping her with her math."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Hey, who is that?"

"Is that _Leonhart?!_"

"I think it is!"

"Oh my _God,_ he's so _hot!_"

Cloud lifted his head in confusion, one eyebrow raising slightly. Were they talking about _Leon?_ Leon, hot? As in, a girl was thinking that? ...Huh?

He was stunned to find a familiar (but at the same time, _unfamiliar_) brunet stopped in front of his desk. Leon frowned at him, toying with his necklace absentmindedly. "How are Sora and Roxas?"

Cloud gulped loudly, eyes failing to stay on Leon's face; instead, they traveled down. His white t-shirt was clinging to his body for seemingly dear life, showing off his muscular torso. Over that was a black leather jacket, complementing the brunet's shirt and making his skin seem pale in comparison (which was surprising, seeing as Leon was very tan to begin with). The white fur around the collar of his jacket clashed with the fact that the jacket was short-sleeved, considering fur gave off an impression of warmth.

Eyes traveling steadily downward, the blond blushed slightly. The leather pants the other boy wore were clinging at his hips, and when Leon turned wrong (or _right,_ in Cloud's opinion), his shirt rode up, showing off the top of the brunet's hips and firm abs. The pants framed his thighs nicely, but from the knee down loosened up a little; apparently, calves were not to be put on display. He knew that if Leon turned, however, the pants were showing off his ass.

"Hey. Earth to Cloud," Leon snapped, scowling. "How are my brothers? ...And Nanaki. How's Nanaki doing?"

Cloud blinked, surprised, then forced himself to smile before he started drooling. "Oh! Sorry! Um, yeah. Sora and Roxas are fine. They complain about not having your cooking, but that's not really my fault. Nanaki seems beside himself."

Leon frowned a little, tapping the blond's desk thoughtfully, before nodding. "Okay. Well, I'll talk to you later," he stated, walking back toward his seat.

"Um, Leon, wait!" Cloud called quickly, blushing a little more. When the brunet turned to stare at him, he smiled. "Do you want to sit by me today?"

Leon tilted his head, blinking slowly. 'Sit... by Cloud?' He felt an unnatural anger flare up. 'Oh, so I have to _change_ for you to notice me!? Well, fuck that!' Keeping up his apathetic façade, he shrugged. "Nah. I'm good with sitting in the back. Thanks for the offer."

Everyone stared in disbelief; Leon turned Cloud _down?!_ Anyone else would have jumped for the opportunity, but he... he just brushed the blond off! Now, if it had been earlier in the year, people may have done something to hurt him. However, it was _not_ earlier in the year and people _were not_ going to hurt him. He was just too sexy now.

Sitting down at his seat, Leon opened his satchel and pulled out a large, old book and let it hit his desk with a thud, then pulled out a black glasses case and opened it, showing the top to have a little line of moombas dancing across it. He put on a pair of black, square-framed reading glasses and opened his book to where he'd left off, not noticing that everyone was staring at him. Apparently, he was sexier now with his glasses on.

Cloud frowned and rested his chin on his hands, lip jutting out in a small pout. He didn't understand how Sephiroth could keep doing it; rejection hurt.

He felt anger flare up and scowled. He wasn't going to let Sephiroth win. Leon would be _his._ He'd make sure of it. Even if he had to fight Sephiroth _tooth and nail,_ he would _win._ Leon was _his_ man-candy.

Now, how do you go about romancing someone who didn't seem to like anything other than books, which he seemed to own all of?

...Crap.

-x-x-x-

Leon groaned and stretched his arms above his head, happy to be able to go pick up his brothers and go to work like usual. All in all, today had been an interesting day; he'd found seven love letters in his locker, been given many proposals for a date (from both females _and_ males), and was currently ignoring the small fan club trailing behind him. It was amazing what leather could do.

"Leon! Hey, Leon, wait!"

Leon turned in surprise, then sighed as Yuffie hopped into the front seat. "You know the drill; bag in the trunk."

"_Leon!_" she whined, frowning. "Why do you have that stupid rule?!"

"Ever since Sora and Roxas lost their backpacks on a sharp turn and I had to backtrack, that rule has been in place. You know how much I hate backtracking. Throw me your backpack." He caught it as it was thrown at his head and stuffed it in the trunk as well, then went around the car and got into the driver's seat. "So, why do I have the pleasure of your company this afternoon?"

Yuffie shrugged, pulling her seatbelt on, then glanced at him, frowning. "You have no idea what you did, do you?"

Leon frowned and turned toward her. "What? I haven't _done_ anything, other than wear one of the outfits you and Riku so _kindly_ forced upon me!"

"You turned Cloud down!" she exclaimed, grabbing her head and grimacing. "Do you _know_ what he does when he gets turned down?!"

"...No," he answered, deciding that he didn't care.

"...Well, fine," she muttered, scowling. "I'll have Sora and Roxas tell you, and then we'll figure out your route of escape for the next few days."

"Whatever."

The rest of the drive was in silence, except for Yuffie's occasional shrieks as he slammed on the breaks and caused her to slam forward with only the seatbelt keeping her in the car.

Sora and Roxas, ready to just go to the Book Bin, stopped in surprise when Yuffie screamed at them to hurry the _hell_ up because Leon had &# _$&$!!! _&$$ rejected Cloud. Sora and Roxas had looked horrified at this news. Leon was simply surprised that Yuffie _knew_ those kinds of words.

"What do you _mean_ Leon rejected Cloud!?" Sora exclaimed, yanking at his hair. "Doesn't he _know_ what Cloud _does?!_"

"Leon, I thought you were supposed to be _smart!_" Roxas whined, slamming his head against the car door.

Leon scowled. "Hey! You need that head! It keeps your brain-- _small as it is-_- in working condition! Get in the car!"

Both twins sighed before doing as told. Roxas frowned, lower lip jutting out as he strapped himself in. "Leon, do you _know_ what Cloud does when he gets turned down?"

"...No," Leon answered, deciding that he _still_ didn't care.

Sora groaned. "He gets obsessive and won't give up until he gets what he wants! And what he _wants_ is _you!_"

"Now that I don't look like a loser," Leon stated darkly, and the three passengers shivered at the anger in his voice. "If I have to _change_ for every damn guy I fall for, I just won't fall anymore. I don't need anybody to be happy. I've got you three and I'm happy with that."

"...Leon, you _deserve_ someone to make you happy, though," Yuffie murmured sadly.

Leon slammed on the breaks and growled as he turned the ignition off. "_NO,_ I _DON'T._"

"Leon--" Sora began, but his older brother would hear none of it.

"NO, I DON'T NEED ANYONE TO MAKE ME HAPPY! I'M HAPPY WITH LIFE RIGHT NOW AND I _DON'T_ WANT YOU TO MEDDLE IN MY LOVE LIFE BECAUSE AS OF RIGHT NOW, I WILL _NEVER_ HAVE ONE!"

Sora watched him walk away, making sure Leon got into the Book Bin, before bursting into tears. Roxas yanked him into a hug and sighed, biting his bottom lip. Well, that was a lesson learned the hard way; don't make Leon change.

Yuffie blinked, then scowled. Oh, no, she would _not_ learn the lesson that easily. She was going to knock some Ninja Sense into that idiot's head (whether she meant Leon or Cloud is still up for debate because not even _she_ knows) and get Leon together with Cloud. It would take a hell of a lot of trying, but she was the Great Ninja Yuffie. She _would_ succeed. ...And she knew _just_ who to get to help her with her plan.

Flipping her cell phone open, her eyes glinted with determination; once she got _him_ involved, there would be no hope for Leon's anti-love life attitude. "Hello? Hi Auntie! Is Zackie-poo there? Yay! May I talk to him?"

Roxas frowned and looked up from comforting his brother. "You're calling Zack?"

Sora blinked, then stood up from his seat and held his fists up in a victory pose. "YES! Leon's love life shall _live again!_"

"Um... Leon didn't have one in the first place," the blond answered.

Sora scowled at him. "Did you not notice how _madly_ in love Leon was with Cloud!? _MADLY, I tell you!_"

"Sora, shhh!" Yuffie exclaimed, waving an arm at him frantically. "Zack? Hi, Zack! Hey, you know how you were taking all of your courses online this year? I've got a big favor to ask! ...No, I didn't screw up on my science test. No, I-- I hate you, Zack! Stop it! This is important!" She huffed and crossed her arms, pouting slightly. "I need help getting Leon and Cloud together. I mean, they're _madly_ in love with each other, but Leon's mad because Cloud only made advances _after_ he changed and now he's sworn off relationships completely. ...You will? Goody!"

"Yay! Zack's helping!" Sora cheered, hugging Roxas tightly.

"Sora, I can't breathe!" Roxas exclaimed weakly, clawing at the older twin's arms.

"Oh, sorry."

"What do you mean, only if you can stay with the Leonharts?! No! You can have dinner over there every other night, but you can't stay there! They've got enough problems!"

Sora grinned and elbowed Roxas in the side gently. "Hah, and Leon says he _isn't_ the best cook in Radiant Garden."

Roxas snorted and nodded in agreement. "As _if._ He's probably the best cook in the _world._"

"...You've been having to stay after for help with Xigbar as your tutor for way too long," Sora stated, frowning.

Roxas blanched and clapped his hands over his mouth. "Oh my _God..._"

"Of course you get to see Sora and Roxas!" Yuffie exclaimed, smiling affectionately; Zack _loved_ those kids. Being an only child got lonely, and they were like his kindred spirits! ...It was actually kind of scary when the four of them worked together though. "Tomorrow? Okay!"

"...Realizing that tomorrow's Friday?" Roxas asked, raising an eyebrow.

She gasped softly. "Oh, _right!_ You guys have a soccer game tomorrow, huh?"

"Yeah! Make him come!" Sora pleaded, yanking on her jacket.

"Of course I will, Sora! Don't worry!" she answered, patting him on the head.

Leon leaned out of the doorway of the Book Bin, frowning. "Did you guys want an after school snack or not? You have ten seconds to get inside and start eating or else I'm making you pay."

Needless to say, Sora, Roxas, and Yuffie did _not_ have to pay for their food that day.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Did you see that awesome save, Zack?! I'm getting better, right?" Sora asked excitedly, tugging at the older boy's jacket.

Zack laughed and ruffled his hair. "You and Roxas are the best on your team, Sora. Is Leon good at sports?"

Roxas frowned and crossed his arms. "Hmm... Sometimes Dad hints that Leon knows basically all sports, but he never plays. Sora and I try to convince him to play a little soccer with us-- maybe even just kick around the ball-- but he's either working on his homework or too tired from working at the Book Bin."

Zack tilted his head, smile beginning to fade. "...Things have changed since we moved, haven't they?"

Yuffie sighed and patted his shoulder. "Yeah. Things have really changed. All Leon does is work and go to school."

Zack scowled and crossed his arms. "I take my eyes off that shrimp for _one minute_--"

"You know he's almost as tall as you now," Sora stated, frowning.

He gasped softly. "The shrimp?! Almost as tall as me!? God, you guys need to stop growin' on me!" As the younger three laughed, Zack frowned in concern, brows furrowing together. "Think he'll be happy to see me?"

"Of _course_ he'll be happy to see you! He'll probably make a _big_ dinner for us!" Sora answered cheerfully.

"Yeah!" Roxas agreed, grinning. "How long are you staying with us, anyway?"

Zack raised an eyebrow. "_With_ you? Yuffie told me I was staying in a hotel."

Sora scowled and smacked him in the arm. "Leon will never stand for that! He'll probably pull out the hide abed and share it with you. Come on! He said he was making cake!"

"Cake!"

-x-x-x-

Riku frowned and hung up his phone, crossing his arms, then turned. "Axel?"

The red-head looked up from his homework and tilted his head. "Hmm?"

He paused, as if not sure what to say, then stated, "Zack wants me to help him get Cloud and Leon together."

Axel raised an eyebrow, pretending not to be amused. "Oh? And how does he want you to do that? By making Leon sexier than you already have?"

Riku sighed and shrugged. "Well, he pointed out that I'm not afraid of Sephiroth--"

"Obviously," Axel interjected. "You're his brother; you can't _afford_ to be afraid of him."

"That's what I said!" Riku nodded. "But then he went on to continue that I'm Cloud's friend, so I'm not afraid of making him angry, either. ...He wants me to date Leon."

Axel snorted and went back to his homework. "Even after you went through your whole 'I'm Not Gay' speech?"

"I've got a date with him tomorrow, because they've still got that third day for their psychology assignment. ...I'm taking him downtown to Pietro's, and then I'm taking him to Walden's." Riku sighed. "I don't know if he'll enjoy it, but it's a start."

"What, you're actually faking a relationship?" Axel frowned. "I thought you were against that."

Riku groaned and fell onto his bed, trying to smother himself with a pillow. "Zack's convincing! And he said this could get Leon with Cloud and I _want_ them to be together..."

"...Wait, so let me get this straight," Axel ordered, repositioning himself to face the distressed teen. "Zack picked _you_ to go out with Leon _why?!_"

"I'm not afraid of Sephiroth."

"Because he's been chasing after Leon for the last _year,_ so that makes sense."

"I'm not afraid of making Cloud mad."

"Okay, _that's_ what I don't get. What does that have to do with anything?"

Riku lifted the pillow away from his face, sighing. "Well, if you think about it, Cloud's now determined more than ever to get Leon, but he's not going to do anything to actually _get_ him. But if has some real _competition..._"

"He's gonna be on you two like white on rice! That's brilliant!" Axel exclaimed, punching the air above him triumphantly. "And you'll have Leon to bake for you! Man, lucky!"

Riku grinned. "I never thought of that! I _love_ Leon's food!"

Axel laughed and fell onto his back. "Oh, man! Riku, you better be the best boyfriend you can! Sora and Roxas won't forgive you if you hurt their brother!"

"Only down side, but I'll deal with it," Riku answered, grin still in place.

-x-x-x-

"I have a date?" Leon asked, frowning, as he placed a large bowl of spaghetti down on the table. "If they haven't told you, Zack, I've sworn off dating. Period."

Zack smiled at him. "Leon, you've already lost this argument and it hasn't even begun yet. _You_ are going on a date tomorrow. I mean, unless you _want_ to spend the whole day over at Cloudy's house."

Leon sighed, then sat the pot of sauce down loudly, slumping into his seat as Zack and his brothers dug into their meal. "_Why?_ You've never pushed me to do something I haven't really wanted to, so why now?"

"Because, Leon, I want to see you happy. And you've been in love with Cloud for like... ever," Zack answered, waving his fork around slightly as he spoke around his food.

"No! Cloud didn't even notice me until I changed clothes! I _don't_ want to be with Cloud anymore!" Leon snapped, crossing his arms stubbornly.

Roxas tilted his head, looking nearly _too_ innocent. "Even if you got to make him suffer a little first?"

Leon stared at his empty plate for a few minutes, frowning, before slowly looking up. "...Make him suffer? How?"

"Seeing you with someone else will make him _extremely_ jealous," Zack explained, eyes shining with mischief. "Besides, the guy's life is so easy. You deserve someone to pamper you, even if it's just going to be for one or two dates. Besides, you can just see yourself as friends unless Cloud or his friends are there. After all... Riku's not gay."

Leon blinked at Zack silently for a few minutes before bursting out into hysterical laughter. "Riku! _Riku!_ I'd _love_ to fake-date Riku! I can get Cloud _and_ Sephiroth!"

"As they always say," Sora stated, rolling his eyes. "Vengeance is _sweet._"

"Actually, I think it tastes more like Leon's spaghetti," Zack answered, staring at his food contemplatively.

"...So Leon is the _smart_ one in your friendship, huh?" Roxas asked, looking up at Leon.

Leon smiled at him. "Zack is smart. He just likes to think about abstract things."

"Wow, Leon! You must _really_ like Zack! You're sticking up for him!" Sora exclaimed, surprised.

Zack elbowed Leon in the side, grinning. "Well he's _gotta_ stick up for me, guys. That's what friends are for, right? Especially since _I'm_ the one that told him the feelings he had for Cloud were _love_ feelings. Eh, eh? Did I tell you or what?"

"You told me, alright," Leon muttered. "And look where it got me."

"In sexy leather pants, that's where it got you!" he exclaimed, looking very much like the cat who caught the canary. "You gotta admit, you're a walking sex god!"

Leon blinked at him, frowning, then sighed and stabbed a meatball out of the pot of sauce. "No."

-x-x-x-

Leon glanced around the Book Bin nervously, then looked up at Zack. "Did I really have to meet him _here?_ I mean... Cloud's been staring at me the whole time... And..."

"Relax, _relax,_" Zack ordered, waving it away. "Here, let me explain this to you _one more time._ Riku's gonna get here and you two have to act like you've been dating for a few weeks-- you know, kiss on the cheek greeting, holding hands, the works-- and Cloud will see it and start to angst, and _you_ get to spend a wonderful day with your wonderful boyfriend!" Zack clasped his hands together and fluttered his lashes sarcastically. "Like, swoon! Oh my God, how delicious will that be?!"

"...And you tell me you're not even bisexual," Leon muttered, scowling.

Kairi, having overheard, leaned over the counter, smiling. "Oh, Axel told me about that! I'm totally for it!" she stated, grinning.

"Oh! Then you can help in the torture of Cloud!" Zack answered, grinning. "You know, after Leon and Riku have left, just _casually_ mention how cozy they look together, something like that?"

She frowned, as if insulted. "Um, excuse me? You're talking to a _girl._ This is what I do for a _living._" She sighed softly. "Boys are so stupid."

"Hey!" Leon exclaimed, frowning at her. "I thought you liked me!"

"Okay, fine," she answered. "Let me rephrase that: _straight_ boys are so stupid."

"Yes, that's the perfect answer," Zack muttered sarcastically.

Just then, the bell on the door jingled, signifying that someone had just arrived or departed. Turning toward the door, Leon flushed and began fiddling with Griever nervously. Cloud had been watching him since he'd arrived; how would he feel about him leaving with someone else?

Riku smiled at him sweetly, then walked over to him and reached up, gently playing with his chocolate locks. "Ready to go?"

Leon blushed a little more and nodded slightly, for some reason at a loss for words. "Uh huh."

"Great! Let's go!" Riku answered cheerfully, grabbing his hand and leading him toward the door. He looked back at Zack quickly, as if just remembering something. "I'll have him back by ten, okay?"

"Alright, but no making out in bathroom stalls!" Zack answered, making both boys freeze in their steps and just stare at him.

"...In... bathroom stalls?" Leon asked softly, frowning.

Riku blushed, then yanked Leon out the door. "Come on, Leon, he's just stupid."

Inside the Book Bin, a cookie sheet clattered to the floor.

-x-x-x-

Cloud stared at the door in shock, the fact that the cookie sheet he'd been holding was no longer in his hands barely registering.

Leon. Leon had left with Riku. Leon had _left_ with Riku. _Leon_ had _left_ with _Riku._ Hand in hand. Blushing. Back by ten. Date?

Riku was taking Leon on a date? _Insert dying brain cells here._

"How long have they been dating, anyway?" Kairi asked, frowning and leaning on the counter to speak with Zack.

Cloud knelt down to pick up the fallen cookie sheet, all ears for the answer. 'Yeah, Zack. How long have they been dating?'

Zack rested his chin on his palm and smiled. "Well, a few weeks. Isn't it cute the way Riku makes Leon blush, even though he's the younger in the relationship?"

Kairi smiled and nodded. "It is. Will they be going out often?"

"They will if _I_ have anything to do with it." Zack scowled. "Just because they almost don't make enough money to pay the rent _doesn't_ mean that Leon gets to skip out on a social life!"

"But they need the money-!" Kairi gasped.

Zack waved it away. "Come _on,_ gorgeous. I've got a trust fund from my grandparents; I'm staying with them, so I can contribute." His carefree grin returned. "Besides, I--"

"Zack Fair!"

Cloud jerked his head toward the door quickly as it slammed open. 'Huh? Oh, right, he likes Leon too...'

Sephiroth stormed over to the grinning black-haired man and growled. "Why is my little brother holding hands with Leon?!"

Zack smiled innocently. "Why, obviously, he was taking Leon on another date!"

"_Another_ date?" Sephiroth asked angrily.

"Yeah! Been dating a few weeks! You want me to buy you a muffin? Apparently, Cloudy's gotten better at baking."

"In case you didn't _notice,_ I'm the one who's been chasing after him for a whole year!"

Zack smiled even wider and clapped his hands together. "Well then, all the more reason for me to set them up! After all, I'm the one you've been dating for the past year!" Zack's expression fell to a menacing glare. "Didn't think of that before you stormed in asking questions, did you?"

Sephiroth paled slightly, realizing his grave mistake. "I..."

"Oh, I've _known,_ Sephy," Zack stated icily. "Because the Leonharts are dear friends of the Kisaragis and Yuffie is my cousin, and she, Sora, and Roxas have been complaining about how you keep chasing after Leon and how much Leon doesn't like it. Well, they won't have to complain anymore, because Riku's got Leon now. And you know what you've got? The bachelor life again. We're _over._"

"But--" Sephiroth exclaimed, but the shorter man cut him off.

"You _cheated_ on me, Sephiroth." Zack immediately brightened up, holding up the tip jar. "On the other hand, if you'd like a latté, Kairi will make you one if you give her a decent tip!"

Sephiroth sighed sadly and tilted his head a little. "But Zack..."

"I'll tell you what," Zack stated, sighing. "If you prove that you really care about me, I'll _think_ about taking you back."

"How do I do that?" Sephiroth whined, slumping onto the counter.

Kairi brightened up. "Chocolate, flowers, and a _very_ romantic date!"

"Oh, and no telling the Leonharts about this," Zack added, frowning. "I have led them to believe that I am straight, and I shall be very, very sad if my charade must end. It's fun. So far I've led them on five years, six months, two weeks, three days and--" He checked his watch. "...One and a half hours."

"...Sometimes your sense of humor alarms me," Sephiroth stated, frowning, before sighing and grabbing Zack's arm. "Come along, Zackary."

"Hey! I wasn't finished talking to Kairi--" Zack exclaimed, looking much like a child being dragged out of a candy store as he was led outside.

Cloud looked down at the cookie sheet in his hands. 'The Leonharts can barely pay rent each month? ...And I've been complaining about how much Leon works...' Placing the cookie sheet back on the counter, he glanced at Kairi. "...Kairi?"

The red-head turned toward him and tilted her head. "Huh?"

"...Where are their parents? I mean, I stayed at the Leonharts' for two nights, and I didn't see them."

Kairi frowned and crossed her arms, chewing on the nail of her index finger nervously. "Well... There mother is dead. She died giving birth to Roxas and Sora. Their dad does research for a traveling agency. He calls every Sunday and Wednesday to see how they're doing, and comes to stay with them for a week right after New Year. He works the rest of the time to make sure they have rent. Leon works for groceries."

"...And I've been complaining about how much he works..." Cloud looked down at his feet and sighed dejectedly. "...I'm such a moron..."

"For what it's worth, even if he was offered help, he won't accept it," Kairi answered, sighing as well. "The Leonharts are too proud. Come to think of it, our family is too. But we make it."

"...Where did Leon get that scar from?"

She frowned at him in indignantly. "Like I'm going to tell you _that!_ Cloud, if you really want to know, ask Leon yourself. He'll tell you when he's ready."

-x-x-x-

"Wow, Riku! I don't know how to thank you!" Leon exclaimed, hugging the thick book to his chest.

Riku smiled and scratched his cheek absentmindedly. "Well, I've got to be a good fake boyfriend, Leon. Your brothers are really protective of you. Besides, when I saw your eyes light up when you saw the book and then see your disappointment when you looked at the price, I _had_ to buy it for you."

Leon turned and nuzzled his shoulder playfully. "You know, if you were really gay, I'd totally date you."

Riku laughed and wrapped his arm around the brunet's shoulders. "Right back at you, Leon. It's fun to spoil you Leonharts. You appreciate everything that's given to you. ...Especially a book containing the entire Chronicles of Narnia series."

"Don't tease me! When the power goes out I read to Sora and Roxas to keep them calm and I thought they'd like these!" Leon exclaimed defensively, blushing.

The silver-haired boy laughed and gave him a small squeeze, then stopped, smile fading, as he saw Cloud sitting on Leon's doorstep. "Uh... I think... I better go," he murmured, frowning, before slowly taking his arm from around Leon and walking back the way they'd come.

Leon frowned and watched him leave, then turned to Cloud, confused. "What are you doing here? You can go home now. The day's over; you can go start making your speech for class."

Cloud looked up at him slowly, eyes shadowed by his hair. "Why didn't you tell me you barely make rent every month?"

"Who told you that?!" Leon asked defensively, ready to slaughter whoever it was that spilled.

Cloud stood up and glared at him, ignoring the question completely. "You work _so_ hard to make a good living for your family and you let everyone at school call you weird! Why don't you stand up for yourself? You should be proud of making it this far!"

Leon growled softly, furious that Cloud would yell at him for not sticking up for himself. "Oh yeah?!"

Sora and Roxas, who'd just walked up with Zack in tow, were about to state that that had been the _lamest_ comeback Leon could have said, but he continued before they could open their mouths.

"You think I enjoy working everyday while everyone else is going to the mall or hanging out and having fun?! You think I enjoy having Yuffie and Zack as my only friends aside from Rikku, Paine, Yuna, Riku, and the Pyrokis, whom I don't even get to see because _they're_ working hard to pay _their_ bills too?! You think I enjoy having to work late instead of going to see my brothers' games?! You think I enjoy the fact that I have to _change_ to get you to notice me?! That I have to get Riku to buy me new clothes just so you'll look at me and acknowledge I exist?!

"Well for your information, I _don't_ enjoy it! I'm working my ass off to keep my family together instead of having to go to foster homes because my dad's always gone for work! I've never had help before so why should anyone help now?! I don't need help! I don't _want_ help! _Especially_ not from someone who didn't even acknowledge me until he was paired up with me on a stupid assignment!"

With that, Leon stormed inside and slammed the door shut. The four boys stayed outside silently, trying to grasp what had just happened, when the sound of the oldest Leonhart bursting into tears reached their ears through the door. Yuffie, who had walked up just in time to hear the last few seconds of screaming, walked past the boys and into the house as if she owned the place.

As the door clicked shut, all four rushed to put their ears to the door.

"**Leon?"**

"**...Go away..."**

"**Oh, Leon... Come here..."**

A pause in the talking as Leon complied and let her hug him comfortingly.

"**...It's not fair!"**

"**I know it's not, sweetie. Just cry it out. Come on; just cry it all out."**

"**I'm just doing what I have to-"**

"**Shhh... I know, Leon. I know."**

"**I don't want to do this anymore...!"**

"**I know."**

"**Cloud didn't even acknowledge me, and now he's acting like he knows what I'm going through--"**

"**He's just confused. Come on, Leon. Calm down."**

Cloud frowned, then pulled away from the door. "...I'm sorry I bothered you," he stated softly, though whether he was speaking to Sora, Roxas and Zack or Leon wasn't clear.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Cloud Strife, your speech is next," Vincent drawled, already bored after listening to six speeches about how absolutely great it was living in the other person's life. "How long do you expect your speech to be?"

"Short and sweet," Cloud answered, walking to the front of the room. He placed up his visual aid, then turned toward the class and crossed his arms. "Squall Leonhart. He doesn't like being called Squall; bad memories, so don't do it." He turned to the poster and pointed to probably the largest picture on the poster, though most of them were large just the same. The picture was of Sora and Roxas, practicing passing a soccer ball.

"This is Sora and Roxas, his twin brothers. They're in eighth grade. The play soccer and take care of their older brother. Sora's always happy; Roxas is the level-headed twin. Sora has a box at the top of his closet where he keeps something that reminds him of each and every one of the people close to him. Apparently, the object that reminds him of me is a moogle--" At this, the class started laughing. "--And the object that reminds him of Leon is a little stuffed lion.

"And then there's Roxas. Roxas keeps a scrapbook filled with pictures not even _Sora_ can get his sneaky little hands on. Whether the pictures are embarrassing or not, I have no idea. Only he gets to see the scrapbook. He's too terrified that someone will steal the pictures he's so attached to."

He pointed at a picture of Yuffie, who happened to be seated next to Leon, eating some cake that he'd just baked like some ravenous animal. She had frosting all over her face. Zack was right next to her, in the same frosty position. "This is Yuffie Kisaragi and Zack Fair. They're cousins. Yuffie and Zack are probably the first people to ever break through Leon's diamond hard exterior. Some say they did it for his cooking; others say they did it because they like to be difficult. Turns out, it's because their parents were good friends.

"Yuffie is always there for Leon, even if he chooses to ignore her, but she's okay with that. They've known each other since she was born. Zack is a totally different story." Here Cloud sighed. "He's the only person Leon looks up to besides his father, Laguna, and his boss, Merlin. And just so you know, Zack is the most manipulative person I've ever met; his heart's in the right place, though, so that makes everything okay."

He pointed at a picture of Riku giving Sora a noogie as they were walking from school. "This is Riku Koyami. You all probably know his snooty parents, but Riku's not snooty at all. In fact, he's pretty humble. That's because Sora whooped his ass when they were younger. He mooches food off of Leon whenever he can."

Next was a picture of Axel and Roxas, fighting over the last piece of chicken at the dinner table. "This is Axel Pyroki. ...In the end, Leon get fed up and gave the last piece of chicken to their cat, by the way." The class laughed again. "Axel lives next door with his brother and sisters. He mooches food off of Leon whenever possible as well. Because, believe me, Leon is an _awesome_ cook. Axel is too-- Roxas and Sora mooch off him all of the time-- but he likes to be lazy. Leon doesn't mind.

"You're probably wondering why I've told you about Zack, Yuffie, Riku, and Axel, because they're not at all related to him. Well, I'll tell you why. They're as much a part of Leon's family as his cat. ...And God, he loves that cat." He jerked his thumb at a picture of his cat. "Name's Nanaki. He guards the kitchen while Leon's away because Sora and Roxas can't cook.

"You're also probably wondering why Leon, since he's got such an awesome family, is so cold and withdrawn. It's because he's so stressed all the time that he doesn't have the time _or_ the energy to deal with all of the crap you all put him through everyday of his life. After he leaves school, he picks up his brothers and goes to work at the Book Bin, where he bakes. As cold and withdrawn as he is at school, at the Book Bin, he's a completely different person. He even smiles. It's really amazing.

"And as much as he tries not to care, what you people say about him _hurts_ him. He's just so _tired_ that he doesn't do anything about it. Which is why you should _never_ say what you say about him in front of his brothers or his friends, because Axel will beat the shit out of you, Riku will have your head on a pike, Yuffie will show off the 'ninja skills' she always brags about-- which she _does_ have, by the way-- and put you in the hospital, and Zack will personally shove your head _up your ass_ and escort you to the nearest doctor so you can have your head extracted so he can do it again.

"And if you value your lives or limbs, for the love of _God,_ don't do it in front of Sora and Roxas, because they will turn into rabid little weasels and _maim_ you." The class laughed again. Cloud sighed and jerked his thumb at another photo; it was of Riku limping out of the emergency room, covered in bandages. "It's not funny. That was the work of _one_ of the Leonhart twins. Do you _really_ want two of them on you? No, because the probability of you coming out in one piece is one in a thousand--"

"Billion."

Everyone turned toward the door sharply; Cloud had been talking so seriously that everyone had been engrossed by his information.

Sephiroth shrugged, frowning. "It's actually one billion." He turned his gaze on Leon and frowned. "Leon, come on. It's an emergency."

Leon tilted his head, frowning as well, then stood up and gathered his things. Walking up to the taller man, his brows furrowed together in concern. "What's wrong?"

"I'll tell you in the car."

Leon turned one last, inquisitive gaze at Cloud, then followed him out of the room. "Okay."

Cloud blinked, frowning, then looked up at the class again. "...And he deserves nothing but your respect, because he's given up being a normal teenager to provide for his family. ...How many of you can say you'd give up time with your friends to work so your younger siblings could have spending money?"

-x-x-x-

"What's wrong with him?" Leon asked breathlessly, tears filling his eyes.

Roxas sobbed into side weakly, trembling. "I d-don't know! W-we were jog- jogging around the track, and then-- then he fell and just s-started shaking!"

"Sephiroth, could you watch Roxas for a minute?" Leon looked up at him pleadingly. "I'm going to try and get a hold of my dad."

Sephiroth nodded and pulled Roxas toward him. Roxas turned and latched onto him, never once stopping his sobs to question why he was switching people to cry on. He was too distraught to care, as long as he got to cry.

Leon spent the next half hour trying to phone his dad, but finally settled on leaving a message with the woman he'd be checking in with later that day. As he made his way back to his brother and Sephiroth, he felt a sense of panic; he couldn't lose anyone else. He'd lost his mother, and he'd had to make up for her. No one could make up for Sora if he was gone.

Sephiroth, who'd led Roxas over to some chairs, looked up from the blond who had coincidentally fallen asleep from crying so hard and sighed. "Are you okay, Leon?"

Leon sat down on his other side heavily, leaning his head against the taller man's strong shoulder. "...Why us?"

"Hmm?"

"Why does this always happen to _us?_ We try... we try so _hard..._" Leon sniffed, then turned and started crying into Sephiroth's chest. "We try so hard to make things work and we're rewarded with _this?_ It isn't fair!"

Sephiroth sighed and began rubbing comforting circles on the small of his back. "Everything will be okay, Leon. You'll see."

"...Riku... will want to..."

"I've already called Riku, Axel, Yuffie, and Zack. Zack will be here in about ten minutes and Axel will drive Riku and Yuffie over as soon as school's out." Sephiroth smiled soothingly. "Just close your eyes and rest your mind. Okay?"

Leon mumbled something inaudible and snuggled up to him, then sighed, a small, sad smile adorning his face.

Ten minutes later, Zack walked in, looking concerned. He blinked at the view of Roxas and Leon both asleep against Sephiroth, then raised an eyebrow and rested his hands on his hips. "...I knew there was a downside to you being warm and snuggly. Everyone wants in on the snuggly action." So saying, he walked over to them and planted a kiss on the silver-haired man's lips.

Sephiroth shrugged absentmindedly. "Sometimes, kids just need snuggled."

Zack smiled and crossed his arms. "You're so good with kids, Sephy. Maybe when we get married, we should adopt."

That seemed to snap Sephiroth out of his daze. "M-m-married!? Who said anything about marriage?!"

Zack shrugged innocently. "Well we're not just in this relationship for sex, are we?"

Sephiroth scowled. "Oh, don't be a bitch, Zack! You've never given me sex! You're taunting me now."

Zack smiled and knelt in front of him, gently running his fingers through Leon and Roxas's hair. "I like kids. If you don't, tell me now, and I'll find someone who does."

Sephiroth sighed and rolled his eyes toward the ceiling. "God... Fine. _If_ we stay together and love each other unconditionally, and _if_ we decide to get married, _maybe_ we can adopt a child. Okay?"

"Yes!" Zack exclaimed, clapping his hands together happily.

Leon opened his eyes, smirking. "I knew it."

Zack blinked at him, then gasped. "You were awake that entire time?! _Leon!_ You ruined the game!"

"I'm not gonna tell Roxas and Sora. They can find out by themselves. The game is still going," Leon answered, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "What time is it?"

"Twenty after two. Riku, Axel, and Yuffie should be here soon," Zack answered softly. "You okay? You want something to eat, or drink?"

"Mm... I want my dad," he mumbled, sighing, before leaning forward and wrapping his arms around the raven-haired man's neck. "But if you can't get him, I guess some coffee's okay."

"Hmm... You comin' with me, or are you gonna stay with Sephy?"

Leon groaned and fell back onto Sephiroth. Now that he had the chance, sleep was good. Sephiroth let out an 'ooph' before wrapping an arm around him and rolling his eyes. "This kid really needs more friends. He's still a twelve-year-old emotionally. He was right; it isn't fair."

"Life was never fair to the Leonharts," Zack muttered bitterly, standing up. "They've only accepted one loan, and that was from my parents. It was to pay the rent the first few months after their mother died. They're still trying to work it off."

"...Have you tried telling them no?"

"Leonhart. It means 'lion heart,'" Zack murmured, then shoved his hands in his pockets and looked down at his feet. "Lions are proud. They take what they need and no more. Laguna only accepted the loan because, even though he's the one Sora inherited his personality from, he's level-headed enough to know when he needs help. And they do all they can to make sure they help others. ...You know how Leon does that whole 'Salvation Army Can' thing?"

Sephiroth nodded. "Yes. Why?"

"...Laguna was the one that started that. My mom said that Laguna's done it since he was Leon's age. Like father, like son, huh?" Zack nodded as well and smiled sadly. "...I'm going to go get coffee."

"Don't take too long. As soon as Riku gets here, he'll be panicking, and Leon's going to be the one calming him down," Sephiroth ordered, sighing.

Zack glanced back at him and frowned. "Why Leon?"

"Because when Riku starts panicking, I have to take a walk or else I go all protective, and start mothering him, and it's just- blagh! I hate it and he hates it and we both get even more agitated."

"...So you do care," Zack cooed, smiling.

Sephiroth grabbed a nearby magazine and threw it at him. "Go get Leon's coffee, you jerk!"

Zack chuckled and hurried away before Sephiroth could unleash a bombardment of conveniently close things, which might just include Leon or Roxas. He didn't want Roxas or Leon to get hurt just because he had to tease his boyfriend.

-x-x-x-

Leon growled, heel tapping against the ground at an anxiously fast pace. Roxas had gotten up and started pacing for about an hour before slumping in the seat next to him to just stare into space as Axel stroked his hair. Riku was at the window, looking in at Sora in helpless despair. Yuffie was sitting in the seat next to him, for once not bouncing impatiently. Zack and Sephiroth were seated next to her, Zack stroking her hair comfortingly.

Leon blinked as the empty paper cup was plucked from his hand only to be replaced with a new one full of fresh coffee. Looking up in confusion, he frowned. "Cloud? What are you doing here?"

"Sora's my friend, too," Cloud answered, then looked down at Leon's still tapping heel. "...How many cups of coffee have you had?"

"Eleven. It calms me down," he muttered, taking a sip and reveling in the feeling of the warmth dripping down his throat.

Cloud rolled his eyes. "Oh, yes, your rapidly tapping foot evokes a feeling of great tranquility."

Leon paused, frowning, then scowled and looked up at Cloud again. "Shut up."

The blond sighed and crossed his arms, rolling his eyes slightly, before grabbing Leon's chin and tilting his face back up as he went to take another sip of coffee. Leaning down, he placed a soft, quick kiss to unresisting lips before standing back up and scowling. "I don't like being told to shut up." He leaned down and placed another quick peck on his lips. "And I don't like being rejected by someone I've been in love with since seventh grade."

Leon opened his mouth to respond, but all that came out was a... squeakish kind of noise, maybe? He closed his mouth and cleared his throat to try again, but again he failed. Damn. He'd never been this flustered before. Thankfully, he was saved anymore embarrassment.

"Squall? Roxas?"

Both Leonharts snapped their heads to the side before springing to their feet and sprinting at their father. The brown haired man laughed a little as they both crashed into him, nearly falling backward, then pulled them both close in a hug. His demeanor sobered, however, when he looked toward the window Riku was still vigilantly standing at.

"I came as soon as I heard. What happened?"

"They said it was appendicitis," Leon answered, frowning. "They took him in for surgery and we wanted to see him but the doctors said that we couldn't go in without your permission and now visiting hours are over!"

"Yeah, and I wanted to see him! He was awake for a while and he looked so scared and they wouldn't let us in to comfort him!" Roxas added, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Well, that won't do," Laguna murmured, frowning, before walking over the door and turning the knob. He gasped in mock surprise. "My gods! They've left the door unlocked! _Anyone_ could get into this room!"

Leon and Roxas blinked at him for a few seconds before zipping into the room. "Thanks, Dad!"

Laguna smiled, chuckling to himself, before glancing at Yuffie. "Hey, you little Leon Shadow. You want to see Sora too?"

Yuffie burst into tears and ran into the room as well, quickly followed by Axel and Riku. "Sora!"

Laguna grinned lazily, sliding his hands into his pockets, before Cloud walked up to him cautiously and tilted his head. "Yeah, you go in too. I saw you kissing Squall," he stated, elbowing the small blond suggestively.

Cloud blushed and opened his mouth to object, but then sighed and trudged into the room as well. "Now I know where Sora got his personality..."

"...You know the doctors aren't going to be happy about that, right?" Zack asked, standing up.

Laguna shrugged and gazed through the window at the happy reunion, Sora having woken up after the commotion of everyone running in. "Then the doctors are just going to have to deal with me."

"God forbid," Zack muttered. When he received a confused frown from Sephiroth, he explained, "He's the one that Roxas and Sora inherited their protectiveness from. If the doctors want everyone out, Laguna's going to insist they go do something that not even _I_ would repeat, even if I was pissed."

"You say that as if I'm terrifying." Laguna smiled at him innocently. "I'm not that scary, am I?"

"...Frankly, Laguna, you still give me nightmares," Zack answered, sighing.

Laguna rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks, Zack. You make me feel glad to know I used to baby-sit you."

"How long are you staying?" Zack asked, getting right to the point.

Laguna chuckled and crossed his arms. "I'm not leaving again. That promotion? I got it. I've got a desk job. It pays a great deal more than what I was getting before, and they've got a house for us to live in quite close to the school and my job. ...Of course, the only reason they finally decided to give it to me was because I threatened to quit."

"Staying away from your family can do that to you," Sephiroth murmured, also gazing through the window, though at his brother rather than Sora.

"That means that Leon can take more time off, right?" Zack asked, tilting his head. "I mean, he works a lot..."

Laguna growled, turning a sharp look on his oldest son. "That little brat!"

"...Hmm... Now that I think about it, Seph, you were right..." Zack nodded to himself thoughtfully. "Which is surprising..."

Sephiroth tilted his head, then scowled as the words sunk in. "Me being right is surprising?!"

Zack laughed and waved his hands in front of him frantically. "No, that's not what I meant! I mean, surprising that _you_ figured it out when _I'm_ supposed to be the psychology major!" He smiled at the silver-haired man still glaring at him innocently. "I mean, I've known Leon since he was born, and even _I_ couldn't figure out that he hadn't been growing emotionally!"

"That's because you've known him since he was born; your mind registered it as one of Leon's quirks," Sephiroth answered, sighing.

Zack scowled. "Stop doing that! _I'm_ the psychology major!"

"Uh, incase you _forgot,_" Sephiroth stated, scowling. "I was _going_ to be a psychology major. That's how we met, stupid."

"...Oh, that's right," Zack answered, smile back in place.

Sephiroth rolled his eyes, obviously irritated by his boyfriend's mood swings. "Oh for the love of-- You said Leon started working after he finished fifth grade, right?" When he received a nod from both men, he sighed and continued his explanation. "Well, that was when he stopped spending time with his friends and spent all of his time working. His emotional level is still at the twelve-year-old standard, because without external stimulation, he's not going to grow emotionally."

"...I must have been absent that day," Zack sighed, crossing his arms.

"_No,_ I went into class _prepared,_" Sephiroth argued, scowling at him. "I took two years of psychology in high school."

"Really? Yeah, I gave up after that whole assignment Leon and Cloud just did." Zack frowned. "I was partnered with this girl named Elena. ...I think she had a crush on me."

"Really? I thought your gayness was obvious then," Laguna stated, crossing his arms.

"_Shit,_ you knew too?! You guys are ruining my game!" Zack exclaimed, grabbing his hair and groaning to himself.

Laguna raised an eyebrow. "...I'm not going to tell Sora and Roxas. They can find out on their own."

"YES! THE GAME CONTINUES!"

Sephiroth frowned, then sighed in defeat. "And this is what I'm tied to."

"Oh?" Laguna tilted his head innocently.

"...I'm not having this conversation again," he stated darkly, scowling.

"He said, and I quote," Zack answered, grinning. "'_If_ we stay together and love each other unconditionally, and _if_ we decide to get married, _maybe_ we can adopt a child.' Isn't he sweet!"

"...You sicken me," Sephiroth muttered, eyes narrowing.

Laguna chuckled and patted Sephiroth on the shoulder. "This one's a keeper, Zack. He's the pessimism to your optimism."

Zack giggled and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's waist, nuzzling his chest happily. "Isn't he cute when he blushes?" he cooed, smiling up at him.

Laguna turned his gaze on Sephiroth's blushing face, then unconsciously took a step away. "I'd say yes, but then, he'd start glaring at _me._ I'm okay with _not_ having a glare that rivals Leon's Ultimate Glare of Doom sent at me."

Zack scowled. "Oh, come _on._ Leon's Ultimate Glare of Doom isn't _nearly_ as bad as his Glare of Imminent Death. ...I mean, come on! His Glare of Domestic Doom is the worst!"

Laguna shivered and nodded. "Ugh, I hate that one."

"...Glare... of Domestic Doom?" Sephiroth questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Zack gasped and clutched onto him tighter, terrified of just thinking about it. "That's the glare he gives you before he makes you do housework! Or _worse!_ He cooks the meal you absolutely _despise_ for the whole week!"

"...Somehow, I know that by dating you, I'll never be bored," Sephiroth stated, smiling.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"So we don't have to pay rent anymore?! So Leon can take time off work to come see our games and hang out with us and we can get our own beds?!" Sora asked excitedly, bouncing on the balls of his feet as Leon, Zack, and Laguna hauled their few items of great size onto the bed of Axel's pick-up truck.

"...Someone shut that kid up," Leon muttered, heaving at the couch with all he could. They weren't leaving it behind. It had been his bed for the past... ten years. And it was leather. Well, fake leather, because he'd picked up after his mother and _adored_ animals.

Laguna was with Sora and Roxas, though. Animals were animals. And that cat was against them. But, Leon adored that cat, so it stayed. ...And though the three stubborn Leonharts chose to ignore it, life wouldn't be the same without it protecting Leon's precious kitchen.

Cloud wandered out with a large box labeled 'KITCHEN' and set it down next to two identical boxes. "Well, that's the last one. You guys have a lot of kitchen appliances, you know that?"

Roxas shrugged and smiled innocently. "Leon doesn't make a Christmas list; he leaves out a cooking magazine in strategic places with the things he wants circled. He likes to cook."

"Mm, and aren't we all happy about that," Cloud answered, planting a kiss on Leon's cheek and dodging away before he could get hit.

Leon sent him a glare. "Don't _do_ that, you jerk!"

"Well if you guys want help--" the blond began.

He was met with a solid "NO!"

Sora scowled. "You three are going to get hurt! I mean, it's bad enough you're not letting me and Roxas help, but Cloud's stronger than we are! He can help!"

"Yeah, besides, Leon's the solid uke in their relationship," Axel drawled, sighing. "It should be Cloud in his place anyway."

"I swear to _God_ I'll fucking _kill you!_" Leon snarled, immediately leaving his place to take after the red-head.

Cloud was quick to jump in his place and shove the couch onto the truck bed. "Leon! God, Roxas, control your boyfriend!"

Roxas frowned. "Well it's true."

"I'm gonna _wring your neck_ when we get this stupid couch onto this truck!" Cloud answered, glaring at him.

Leon stopped his rampage and turned, huffing indignantly. "Stupid couch? _Stupid_ couch? That's my mother's couch! I've slept on it for years!"

"Oh, for the love of _God,_ Leon! It's a fucking couch!" Zack complained.

"It's _his mother's_ fucking couch, thank you very much, Zack," Laguna snapped, sending a sharp glare at him.

"DEAR GOD WILL YOU NEVER GET THAT THING ON?!" Yuffie screamed, coming back from a slurpee run with Kairi and Naminé. Shoving the slurpees she held at Sora and Roxas, she sprang into the truck bed nimbly and yanked, pulling the couch on easily.

The three males who'd been previously laboring with the furniture stared at her before Zack scowled. "Show off."

Yuffie shrugged and bounced back over to Sora and Roxas for her slurpee. "What did you expect? _I'm_ the Great Ninja Yuffie."

"I'll 'Great Ninja Yuffie' you," Zack muttered, shaking his fist at her.

Laguna chuckled. "Oh, be nice, or you'll never get your slurpee."

"So it's just the kitchen stuff left to be put on? Nothing else in the house?" Axel asked, double checking the back of his pick-up. "'Cause if there is, you're paying for the gas for the second trip."

"That should be everything," Leon sighed, scratching his head as he checked of things mentally. "Kitchen, bedroom, living room, bathroom, attic... We just need to find the cat."

"You know, Leon," Laguna stated casually, leaning against the back of the pick-up. "Our new house is going to be bigger."

"Yeah, more places for Nanaki to protect with his claws," Sora muttered, then yelped as Roxas elbowed him in the side. "What?!"

Leon sighed. "What's your point, Dad?"

"Well, Cloud had a little house-warming gift to give you before we got there."

Leon turned and raised an eyebrow, scowling. "Spit it out, Cloud. I'm still mad at you."

"Me!? That was _Axel's_ uke comment!" the blond exclaimed indignantly.

"You weren't exactly sticking up for me, you know," Leon muttered, finally locating his adorable kitty and shoving it into a kitty carrier.

"Well, I guess you won't be wanting _this_ little guy then, will you?" Cloud asked, lifting a Dalmatian puppy from a basket in the back of his car.

Leon turned toward him in confusion, then let out a high pitched squeal of delight and took it from him. "Puppy!"

"Puppy?!" And Kairi, Naminé, and Yuffie were on him and the puppy like sharks on a guppy.

Axel and Zack yanked Cloud to safety before he could get caught in the fray. Axel smirked. "Okay, you just scored some major points. Expect some Leon wuvins later."

Cloud simply smiled. Even if Leon somehow did something to upset him later, he would still be happy. After all, how many people could say he'd heard the brunet's ecstatic squeal or seen his face light up with excitement? Probably not many.

-x-x-x-

"So you like it?" Cloud asked softly, watching Leon fuss over the now sleeping puppy on his brand new bed.

Leon smiled and stretched himself out on the mattress, gently stroking his fingers over the spotted pup's back. "Yeah. Thank you, Cloud."

Cloud waved it away carelessly, a smile lazily stretching across his face. "What are you going to call it?"

"I am going to call _her,_" he stated, sending the blond a reproving look. "Shiva."

"Shiva? Alright, it's your dog," Cloud sighed.

"_She_ is my dog!"

"Alright, alright!" Cloud sighed in defeat. "_She_ is your dog."

Leon smiled. "Thank you."

"Sooo..." Cloud smirked. "Do I get a kiss?"

Leon raised an eyebrow, pretending to consider the question, before sighing loudly and sitting up. "If I must."

Cloud scowled, then crossed his arms and turned away as Leon leaned toward him expectantly. "Well if you don't want to, you don't have to. I know you're still mad at me."

Leon blinked, then groaned and crawled over to him. "I was only playing, Cloud. Don't be mad."

Cloud smirked and yanked Leon into his lap, making the brunet gasp in surprise and blush. "I know. I just like teasing you."

Leon scowled and crossed his arms, bottom lip beginning to jut out. "You're such a jerk."

The blond grinned and pulled him closer. "Mm, but you love me," he answered, placing a soft, quick kiss on his lips.

"Mm... Don't," Leon muttered, grabbing the back of his head and pulling him back for another kiss. He moaned as the blond wrapped his arms around his waist. "Mm...! Cloud..."

Cloud broke the kiss and pressed his lips to the smaller teen's jaw, pulling at the tanned skin lightly with his teeth. Leon whimpered softly and dug his fingers into Cloud's shoulders, arching his back as the soft lips and very skilled teeth and tongue moved down to his neck. Cloud moved down to his shoulder, nibbling and sucking lightly, before finally stopping at a spot just above Leon's collarbone.

Leon groaned as Cloud sucked and licked that one spot. "Cloud, t-that's gonna leave a mark..."

Cloud bit down sharply and smirked as the brunet yelped, then leaned back. "Mm, good. Now everyone will see you're mine."

Leon scowled at him. "Excuse me, but when did I become an object? I don't _belong_ to you, Cloud." He yelped as Cloud suddenly set him on the bed, straddling his hips easily. "Cloud!"

"Oh yes, yes I do, Leon," Cloud murmured, smirking again, before kissing his nose softly. "I've got to go. Are we still on for tomorrow?"

Leon scowled and sat up as the blond walked toward the door. "You're such a jerk!"

Cloud sighed and rolled his eyes, then crossed his arms. "You've established that, love. Now are we on for tomorrow or not?"

Leon sighed and nodded slowly. "Yeah..."

Cloud rolled his eyes. "Don't sound so happy about it, Leon."

"Whatever. ...So we're just walking around, right? Just window shopping?"

The blond smiled and nodded. "Yeah. ...Hey, Leon?"

Leon tilted his head and started playing with Griever unconsciously. "Hmm?"

"...Will you wear your leather tomorrow?"

Leon raised his eyebrows in surprise, then shrugged. "Only if you tell me why."

Cloud chuckled and opened the door leading to the hallway. "I'd think that was obvious, Leon. You look sexy in leather."

"Cloud! You pervert!"

Cloud ducked as a shoe was sent flying at his head. "I'll pick you up tomorrow at ten. Be ready."

There was a pause, then-- "_God!_ I hate you!"

And there came the other shoe.

-x-x-x-

"So. Zack," Sephiroth sighed, crossing his arms. "You know why we're here, right?"

"To get a puppy?" Zack asked, looking around the pet shop curiously.

"...Yes and no." Sephiroth sighed again, suddenly appearing agitated. "Zack, I... I'm pretty sure I want to spend my life with you. Is that okay?"

Zack jerked his head toward the taller man in surprise. "Say what?"

Sephiroth looked down at his feet and shoved his hands in his pockets. "If you're not, that's fine. I can wait."

Zack frowned and crossed his arms. "Sephiroth, are you asking me to marry you?"

The silver-haired man shrugged and wandered over to gaze at a litter of kittens. "If you want to."

Zack sighed and looked down at his feet. "Sephiroth, I..."

"It's a simple question of yes or no, Zackary."

The raven-haired man huffed and stomped his foot childishly. "Will you let me talk!?" Sephiroth turned toward him and raised an eyebrow, frowning. Zack sighed, then huffed again. "Now listen here, Mr. I'm-majoring-in-business-so-I-can-run-my-father's-company! It's not that I don't _want_ to marry you! It's just that-- ...Well, it's just that..." He bit his bottom lip anxiously, then began toying with the hem of his shirt. "...I love you, Sephiroth, but I don't know... We still have to finish college, and then we have to start jobs, and my PhD--"

"What's your point?" Sephiroth asked bluntly, obviously tired of his boyfriend's sidestepping of the question.

"What if you decide you don't want me after we get jobs?" Zack blurted out, then blushed and covered his mouth.

Sephiroth sighed and rolled his eyes, then grabbed his shoulders and yanked him into a hug. "Zack, if I was going to break up with you, it would be because you irritate me. And Zack, if you irritated me, I would have broken up with you _long,_ long ago. ...So I want you to know that I'll always love you."

Zack blushed a little more, then sighed. "...You promise...?"

"I promise."

After a few minutes, Zack sighed and pulled away. "Alright. If we're getting married and we're going to adopt a baby, we're going to need two pets."

Sephiroth frowned. "Two?"

"A puppy and a kitten," he continued, looking at the different animals carefully.

"Why-?!"

"So that the kitty can sleep with the baby and the doggy can protect it, silly!" Zack answered, smiling at him innocently, before gasping and leaning down. "I found the puppy!"

"Um... Sir, if you want a guard dog, I would _not_ suggest the standard poodle," a boy with purplish silver hair stated, frowning. His nametag read 'Zexion.'

His coworker bounded over, as Sephiroth and Zack were the only other people in the pet shop, and grinned, swiping his dirty blond hair out of his eyes. "Oh, come on, Zexy! They can name it Killer and train it to be a ferocious beast! Rrawr!" He clawed the air, then laughed.

"...A poodle," Sephiroth stated softly, scowling. "_I'm_ picking the cat. And you are _not_ naming the dog with anything stereotypical."

"Oh, don't worry! I'm going to have Leon name it!" Zack answered, smiling at him. "Leon names all of our animals. You know Yuffie's cat? Leon's the one that named it Sith. Don't worry, Sephy! Leon will think up a good name for the puppy!"

"It's a _girl!_ Who ever heard of a _girl_ guard dog?!"

-x-x-x-

"So Axel just goes and starts chugging his milkshake just because Sora dared him to and then Titus cracked some stupid joke and Axel started laughing and of course it's _Axel_ so his milkshake comes out his nose!"

Leon started laughing, clutching his stomach at the thought of Axel snorting his milkshake out his nose. Cloud smiled dreamily and rested his head on his hand, then frowned as his cell phone vibrated. Flipping it open irritably, he asked, "What? ...No, I'm just _on a date_ right now. What the-?! Tch... Fine." He held the phone out to Leon, scowling. "It's for you."

Leon tilted his head, surprised, then took the phone. "Hello? Oh, hi Zack! ...A name? Well, I'd have to see it... A poodle? What color is it? Golden brown? Uh... Okay, well... Zack, I'd really have to see it. Okay? Okay, yeah, bring it by the house and I'll look at it. No, not now! I'm on a date!" He scowled and snapped the phone shut, then huffed and crossed his arms.

Cloud raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Is someone a little upset?"

"Oh, shut up!" Leon snapped defensively.

"Uh huh, someone's upset. Would you feel better if I got you a latté?" Cloud asked, wrapping an arm around the brunet's shoulders.

Leon opened his mouth to snap at him, then thought better of it. Snuggling closer, he wrapped his arms around Cloud's waist and sighed. "Fine. ...But can we share a mint mocha instead?"

Cloud chuckled and nuzzled his neck fondly. "As long as you let me snuggle you..." He kissed the brunet's neck softly. "And hug you..." Kiss. "And love you..."

Leon began to squirm and laughed a little. "Cloud, that tickles! Stop!"

"Is Leon ticklish? Yes, yes he is!"

"Cloud! _Cloud!_"

-x-x-x-

Leon blinked at the brown puppy staring up at him innocently, then looked up at Zack and Sephiroth, frowning. "...Are you guys serious?"

"Serious about what?" Zack asked, tilting his head.

"...You're serious. You guys seriously can't tell the difference between a poodle and a Labradoodle?"

"What's a Labradoodle?" Sephiroth asked, frowning.

Leon sighed and smacked a hand to his forehead, shaking his head in exasperation. "Oh for the love of... A Labradoodle is a cross between a poodle and a Labrador. And as for a name, well... Valefor. That sounds tough, right?"

"What's Valefor?" Cloud asked, tilting his head. "I mean, you always have a reason behind each name. Right?"

"He's a Duke of Hell," Leon answered carelessly, shrugging. "He tempts people to steal and commands ten legions of demons."

Zack stared at him for a few minutes before squealing and lifting the puppy above his head. "Valefor! That's such a good name! I love it! And we'll call her 'Valley' for short! Come on, Sephy! Let's go home!"

And just like that, Sephiroth was yanked away, looking more confused than ever. "Huh?"

Leon waved, then sighed, crossing his arms. "You know, they're weird. Period."

Cloud slid his arms around the smaller teen's waist and grinned. "Yeah, but happy."

Leon shuddered as the blond began sucking at his neck, then scowled and batted him away. "Cloud! Stop it!" Cloud frowned, then suddenly ducked down, slipping one arm around Leon's back and the other under his knees. The brunet yelped in surprise and clutched onto his neck. "Cloud! Cloud, put me down! Eek!"

Cloud smirked and carried him into the house. "No, I don't think so."

"W-wait! _Cloud!_"

-x-x-x-

Leon groaned, snuggling up to Cloud tiredly. "Cloud..."

Cloud played with his soft, chocolate-colored hair absently. "Leon?"

"Hmmmm?"

"Say you love me."

Leon sighed, then ran his fingers down the blond's chest slowly. "...Cloud, I love you."

"Say it again."

"I love you, Cloud."

Cloud closed his eyes and chuckled softly. "Mm, say it one more time?"

"...Love you, Cloud..."

"You know... I love how sweet you are." He looked down at the brunet lazing in his arms and smiled. "Give me a kiss?"

Leon batted his eyes open slowly, then tilted his head up. "...Why?"

Cloud frowned and stroked his cheek softly. "I have to have a reason?"

"Hmm... I guess not," Leon answered quietly, then leaned up and placed a soft, long kiss on the blond's lips.

"Mm..." He ran his fingers through Leon's hair and smiled, then turned, pinning the brunet beneath him. Breaking the kiss, he grinned. "It would be so easy to take advantage of you, Leon. You're so innocent."

Leon's eyes widened. "But you won't, right? I mean, I _will_ fight back you know, and--"

"Shhh, sh shhh..." Cloud whispered, putting a finger to the brunet's lips. "I'd _never_ do that, Leon. I love you too much. Now, as for our little make-out session... Wanna repeat it?"

Leon blushed a little, nodding his head slowly. "Yeah... But... Why?"

"Because I've been madly in love with you for five years and the only thing I could do to get myself to calm down was to jerk off while thinking of you in the shower," Cloud answered truthfully.

Leon frowned. "...That was more than I expected to find out..."

"...So are we making out, or what?" Cloud asked, tilting his head.

"...Tell you what..." The brunet sighed, then rested his hands behind his head, looking ever the innocent teenager and turning his boyfriend on by doing so. "I'll make-out with you, but only if you promise to love me forever."

Cloud smiled, sighing. "Squall Leonhart, I promise to love you forever. ...Longer than forever. I'll love you until the end of my existence, alive or otherwise."

Leon blushed again, then reached up and laced his hands together above the blond's head. "I promise to love you forever too, Cloud."

"Do I have permission to pull you into a mind-boggling kiss now?" Cloud asked teasingly.

Leon smiled and nodded. "Yes. ...Of course, my dad and brothers aren't getting back until late, so we could... you know... fool around a little," he added innocently, tilting his head.

Cloud gulped, then growled dominantly, lunging down to plunder the brunet's mouth. Leon gasped, surprised by the passion put into the kiss, then moaned and hooked his leg over the blond's hips.

-x-x-x-

"I'm gonna go get Leon to check under our beds," Sora stated cheerfully, running up the stairs to his older brother's room. Opening the door without knocking, the young brunet was stunned by what he saw. Backing out of the room quickly, he stumbled back down the stairs and over to his dad. "Uh, Dad?"

"Yeah?" Laguna asked, frowning, as Sora began tugging at his shirt nervously.

"Uh... Uh... I think... _You_ might need to check under our beds tonight."

Roxas frowned. "Why?"

"Because Cloud's in Leon's bed. ...With Leon. ...And from what I can see, they're both shirtless."

Silence filled the room for a few solid minutes before Laguna sighed and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "If it's not _work_ for that stupid teen, it's _sex._ That's all teenagers think about. Work and sex. ...Be sure to tease Squall tomorrow."

Roxas, usually the level-headed one, grinned, almost frighteningly large. "I can do that. I need my camera! Another one for the Leon Scrapbook!"

"...That whole scrapbook is about Squall?" Laguna asked in disbelief.

"Oh, not that one!" Sora answered, laughing. "We've kept a scrapbook of our lives so we could show our kids one day, and to tell you about all the stuff you've missed, so we need to add this to the Leon Scrapbook! He'll thanks us for it someday, I'm sure of it!"

Laguna chuckled and shook his head as the twins shot up the stairs again, cameras in hand. "Well, at least their motions are moving forward and they're not dwelling like I did. I gotta tell ya, Rain; we did good. Three beautiful boys doing what their hearts tell them to; God, I wish you were here to see it."

And up in heaven, a soft, feminine laugh was heard. "I've seen it, Laguna. I've seen it."

Author's Note:

Okay, I lied. :D But you still love me, right? I'm continuing this story a little further. Not much further, just a few chapters, but still. I have decided that this story is not finished yet. Enjoy!


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Leon groaned and whimpered softly as he turned over to face the wall, only to feel his head thump against a firm but not terribly hard surface. Lifting his head slowly in confusion, he was surprised to find Cloud's face just a few inches away from his face. He frowned a little and tilted his head. Why was Cloud in bed with him?

When he tried to sit up, a short but loud, high-pitched squeak escaped his lips before he fell back down. "Owiiie!"

Cloud groaned and wrapped an arm around his waist, then blinked his eyes open slowly, frowning. "Why so early...?"

"I..." Leon whimpered as his eyes began to fill with tears. "It... it hurts...!"

The blond sat up quickly, eyes darkening in concern as he began to rub the small of his boyfriend's back. "Did I go too hard last night, Leon? I'm sorry!"

"I... I... I don't... Uhn..." Leon shut his eyes tightly, whimpering again, before opening them again and looking up at him with big, watery eyes. "I don't think I can get up by myself. I want to take a bath. Maybe the warm water will make it feel better?"

"Okay. I'll go get your bath ready. You just rest here."

The brunet blushed and nodded a little. "Okay. I like my water really hot!"

Cloud smiled at him and nodded. "Okay. Don't move, babe. I'll be back to help you to the bathroom in a minute."

-x-x-x-

Sora and Roxas stumbled down the stairs tiredly, rubbing their eyes and yawning much like they always did now that they had their own room. As they trudged into the kitchen, they were surprised to find Cloud standing at the stove. Hadn't Nanaki proved that he couldn't cook? Why was he at the stove and making good smells float to their noses?

Cloud turned in surprise as he heard a surprised squeak, then smiled and nodded. "Good morning, guys. How'd you sleep?"

Leon, upon hearing his boyfriend's greeting, leaned out, turned a little to face his brothers, and smiled. "Good morning. How does French toast with strawberries and whipped cream sound?"

"...Like badly needed nourishment," Roxas replied and continued to the table.

Sora frowned and sat at the table as well. "Why is Cloud holding you up, Leon?"

"Because I made him sore. Sorry," Cloud answered, smiling innocently as Leon blushed. He looked back at the brunet and tilted his head. "I'm going to start putting things on the table. Will you be able to stand by yourself?"

Leon nodded slightly, blush still in place. "Yes. Go ahead."

"'kay babe." He pressed a quick kiss to the brunet's cheek and smiled before grabbing the bowls of strawberries and whipped cream. Soon after that five plates joined the bowls, along with silverware and glasses, and a pitcher of orange juice.

"Sora, call Dad down. Breakfast is ready," Leon stated, bringing over a platter of French toast with minimal flinching. "Then after that Roxas has a date with Axel, you promised to go shopping with Kairi and Riku, and Dad has to go to work."

"And what are you and Cloud going to do?" Roxas asked, raising an eyebrow as Sora went to go do as he was told.

Cloud rested his hands on the eldest Leonhart's shoulders and smiled. "We're going to stay here and I'm going to answer his every beck and call until he feels no more pain."

The brunet scowled. "I'm not helpless!"

"I know, sweetie," the taller teen answered, then began to nuzzle his neck lovingly. "I just don't want you to strain yourself."

-x-x-x-

"Mm..." Leon turned his head and placed a few timid kisses to his boyfriend's shoulder, then blushed a little as Cloud leaned down and pulled him into a quick kiss. When the kiss ended, the brunet smiled innocently. "I love you, Cloud."

"I love you too, babe," the blond replied, smiling as well, before kissing down the smaller teen's scar. His smile slowly faded into a frown. "Leon, how _did_ you get this scar?"

Leon flinched, then turned his head away quickly, biting his bottom lip. "...I... don't like to talk about it."

Cloud sighed sadly. "That just intrigues me more, Leon. I'm sorry."

The brunet flinched again, then sighed and turned, snuggling up to the taller teen's chest. "I'll tell you, but you have to hold me while I'm talking, okay?"

"Okay," the blond answered quietly, kissing his eyelids lovingly.

Leon took a slow, shaky breath, then opened his mouth to explain.

_When I was younger-- about sixth or seventh grade-- I was walking home from the Book Bin all by myself. It was dark out, but I was used to it by that time, because sometimes I worked __**really**__ late in order to help my dad with the bills. I mean, sure, most kids wouldn't __**dare**__ to be out at that time, but--_

"Leon, you're babbling..."

_Oh. Sorry._

_Anyway, I was walking home alone while it was getting dark. I didn't realize anyone was behind me until about halfway home. It was then I realized that there were three guys following me. God, they couldn't have been more then nineteen._

_Anyway, they were following me, and I realized that they kept getting closer and closer--_

"Ow! Leon, you're hurting me. Loosen your grip on my shirt please."

_Right! Sorry! I didn't mean to!_

_As I was saying, I soon realized that they were getting closer and closer to me, then all of a sudden, two of them grabbed me and dragged me down the alley nearby, and the third one, he-- ...He..._

"...Take your time, baby..."

Leon sobbed quietly and clenched the blond's shirt in his hands tightly. "They grabbed me and they touched me and they made me touch them and I didn't like it but they wouldn't let me go! When they finally finished with me one of them bent down and cut my face and told me they'd always know who I was if they saw me again!"

Cloud frowned. "...And Seifer... his scar--"

"That's the reason we don't get into so many fights anymore," the brunet whispered, tears staining his cheeks. "He knows what I went through and I know what he went through. We try to forget, but..."

"Shhh..." The taller teen put a finger to his lips quickly, smiling reassuringly. "I'm... sorry I made you share your story. You obviously weren't ready. Shhh... I'm sorry, baby..."

"No! I want to talk about it!" Leon hid his face in the blond's chest and sobbed. "I just want all of the pain to go away, and the only way it will is if I talk about it!"

Cloud sighed, then forced a smile. "Then talk, Leon. I'll listen to you."

"...Seifer and I... we started going to therapy together," the brunet whispered, calming himself enough to talk. "It was easier to talk to the therapist when we were together. He'd walk me home afterward, because... because I was too afraid to walk home alone, and Reno... Reno and Rude were always too busy with work to give me a ride. One night, when we were walking home--" He cut himself off with another sob.

The blond sighed and rubbed the small of his back soothingly. "Take your time, babe. I've got all the time for you in the world."

Leon shuddered slightly. "...There was crying... They were going to do it to someone _else..._" He blushed as Cloud pulled him closer and looked up in confusion. "Cloud?"

Cloud frowned and held him as close as possible. "I love you. How could someone do that to someone as good and sweet as you...?"

"...I..." The brunet blushed a little more and bit his bottom lip. "I wasn't always... You... Eh...?"

"Are they still out there?" the blond asked softly, leaning his forehead against the smaller teen's.

Leon shook his head slightly, unable to tear his eyes away. "No. Seifer beat them to a pulp when we found them again and I called the police on his cell phone."

"Well. Lucky for them." Cloud cuddled the brunet closer and sighed, happy that his boyfriend was unable to read his mind, because he was currently picturing some rather grotesque scenes. "I'd hate to come across them on the streets. I'd have to kill them."

The smaller teen squeaked and looked up at him quickly. "Cloud! You can't possibly _mean_ that!"

"They touched what is _mine._ I don't like to share."

Leon bit his bottom lip and lowered his gaze, finding that he was unable to see the blond's serious expression. "...Cloud... Don't say that..." When the taller teen merely blinked at him in response, he sighed. "I don't like thinking about them. And I hate the idea of you hurting anyone! Can't you just... let it go? ...I have..."

"Why would you let something like that _go?_" Cloud asked sharply. "They _raped_ you and you just want to forget about it?!"

"I'm not _forgetting_ about it!" the brunet answered, glaring at him. "I'm getting _over_ it!"

"You shouldn't _have_ to get over it, though! They should have never touched you!"

"But they _did!_ They _did,_ and now I'm getting _past_ it! Cloud--"

"How could you forgive them?!"

"I haven't _forgiven--_ Cloud, you need to leave," Leon stated, pulling away from him angrily.

Cloud stood up quickly, glaring at the brunet, and answered, "Yeah, I do. Goodbye."

The smaller teen watched him go, flinching slightly as the front door slammed shut, then covered his face, sobbing quietly.

Cloud leaned his head back against the door and sighed as he heard him burst into tears. "...I didn't mean to hurt you," he whispered, standing up straight. "I just didn't know you'd been hurt before."

-x-x-x-

_Knock knock._

Zack turned his head and frowned, tilting his head. "Hmm? Sephiroth, let me get that." The silver-haired man scowled but let him get up, mentally swearing to hurt whoever had interrupted his fun. As he opened the door, Zack smiled. "Cloud! What's brings you here?"

The teenager looked up at him and scowled. "Had nowhere else to go to talk to someone. I need to talk to you."

"Oh? Well, come on in," the raven-haired man replied, opening the door further to allow him in.

Cloud couldn't help but smile as Valley ran up to him, barking and bouncing, and began nipping at his hands. "Hey, puppy. ...Sephiroth." He nodded to the college student, then looked back at the man he'd called upon. "Zack, when Leon was..."

Zack frowned, immediately interpreting the expression on the blond's face (correctly), and shoved him onto the couch. "Sit. You'll need to."

"...Okaaay..."

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. "Is this about--"

"Yes, Sephy, it is."

"...I'm taking a shower."

"Good."

As soon as Sephiroth was out of the room, Zack sighed and turned his gaze back to Cloud. "Leon was raped. He's done a good job of getting past it, though, if only for his brothers."

"But it seems as if he's _forgiven_ them!" Cloud exclaimed, confused.

The older man sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Cloud... He hasn't _forgiven_ them. In fact, he'll probably _never_ forgive him. And that's okay; what they did to him was unforgivable. What's important is that he's moving on. You need to _help_ him. Support him. Be there for him. That's all he needs; and in truth, it's probably all he wants."

The blond frowned in thought, sighing, then scowled and tugged on one of his spikes. "_Craaap._"

Zack raised an eyebrow in surprise. "What?"

"I need to apologize to him nooow..." Cloud growled and tugged harder at his hair. "I got into an... _argument_ with him about it. So I'm basically in the doghouse."

"...Well that's certainly a good way to ruin your relationship, Cloud."

"GAH! Just shut up and help me fix this!"

-x-x-x-

"...Shiva, I love you. If Cloud ever comes back, I want you to bite him. Okay?" Leon asked, petting the sleeping puppy in his lap. "Just bite him and make him go away..."

"You know he's going to try and make it up to you, right?" Sora asked, raising an eyebrow. "He's probably _very_ sorry."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

It had been lonely the last few days without Cloud. Leon sighed and glanced at Kairi. "Do you think he'll ever forgive me?"

The redhead scowled at him. "Why would he need to forgive _you?_ After all, _he's_ the one that hurt _your_ feelings. If anything, he owes you a bouquet of roses and a heartfelt apology. You owe him nothing. You opened up to him and he hurt you."

"He was just upset someone had hurt me," the brunet argued, frowning. "He had every right to be angry—"

"Yes, but to turn that anger on you was unfair."

"…But Kairi—"

"Leon, I have _won_ this argument. Go back to baking your pastries."

He sighed but turned to do as he was told; he was in no mood to argue. "Okay."

Kairi frowned and watched him silently, then turned back around when she heard the door open. She began to greet the person, then saw who it was. "Good afternoon—Oh, it's you." She rolled her eyes. "Never mind."

Cloud sighed and tilted his head, frowning. "I want to talk to Leon. Is he here?"

"Perhaps," she answered, turning away from him. "Let me check."

"…Okay…" the blond answered, looking down at his feet.

She ducked into the back room that Leon had disappeared into and tilted her head. "Leon, Cloud's here. He wants to talk to you."

Leon looked up at her, then sighed and turned to trudge out to the counter. He looked up at the blond like a wounded puppy. "Yes?"

Cloud smiled weakly, stepping up to the counter. "Hey. I… I wanted to see you. …I'm sorry I yelled at you." He reached out and gently brushed the back of his fingers against the brunet's cheek. "I had no right to say those things, and I deserve a tongue lashing for it. I'm sorry, sweetie."

"…Cloud, I…"

"You don't have to forgive me right away. I know some of the things I said were cruel, considering what you'd gone through." He leaned forward to press a kiss to the younger teen's cheek. "Sorry, sweetie. I'll go now."

Leon gasped softly, blushing, and reached out to grab his arm. "Cloud, wait!"

The blond turned and tilted his head. "Hmm?"

"I… I don't want you to go yet!" He reached over the counter and wrapped his arms around the taller boy's neck. "Please don't go yet!"

Cloud let out a soft yelp and wrapped his arms around him as well. "Leon-! Babe, what are you-?" He sighed and rolled his eyes in annoyance with their uncomfortable position, then gently pulled the brunet over the counter to rest comfortably against him. "Leon, don't get upset…"

"I thought you were so mad at me…" The brunet hid his face in the taller boy's chest. "You were so angry, I—"

"Oh, Leon, I wasn't mad at _you,_" the blond whispered, pulling him closer. "I was mad at what _happened_ to you. …I was mad that I couldn't help you while you were in pain."

"But you weren't there," Leon whispered back, leaning back to look up at him. "Please don't be angry that you weren't there to help. I'm fine now and I just want you to love me. Is that okay? Can you do that?"

Cloud smiled sweetly and nodded. "Of course I can. Oh! I got something for you," he added, pulling away and pulling a small velvet box.

The brunet blinked at him. "…That's not an engagement ring, is it? Because we're only seventeen—"

"Shh," the taller teen ordered, putting a finger to his lips. He smiled and opened the box to show him a silver band with a dark blue sapphire set into it. "It's not an engagement ring, silly. I don't have enough money for that yet."

"What do you mean yet-?" Leon began, but blushed when the blond lifted his left hand and slipped the silver band onto his ring finger. "Oh, Cloud, how much did you spend on this? I can't—"

"I promise I will _always_ love you," Cloud cut in, turning his intense gaze from the pale hand held in his own to the brunet's own gray one. "And I promise to never get upset with you like that again."

The smaller teen blushed even more and brought his free hand to his chest, eyes widening as the blond lifted his hand to his lips and gave it a soft kiss. "C-Cloud, this must have cost so much-! I can't accept this, I—"

"I'll be more hurt if you don't accept this, Leon. I love you and I've made a promise to you, and I'll keep it on pain of death. Please?"

Leon sighed and tilted his head, frowning a little, before lunging forward and throwing his arms around the blond, hiding his face in his neck. "Okay. I… I love you too. Please forgive me."

"There's nothing to forgive. I'm the one that was a jerk." Cloud smiled as the brunet nuzzled his neck, pressing closer to him and trying to hide his embarrassment. "Now be a good boy and go back to work before someone comes in and accuses me of molesting you during your working hours."

The brunet groaned softly and grabbed his shirt, pulling him down for a sloppy kiss. The taller teen squeaked in surprise, then growled and shoved him up against the counter, taking his chance to absolutely ravish him without embarrassing him. He moaned as the brunet lifted his leg and hooked it around his waist, then smirked as he heard the smaller teen whimper quietly in need.

"What the _hell_ are you doing?!" Cloud yelped as he was ripped away from his boyfriend and thrown toward the door, then turned to find Tifa scowling at him, her hands placed on her hips. "It's one thing to grope your boyfriend at school, but then you come to disrupt his work and practically rape him against the counter?!"

"_What?_" the blond exclaimed indignantly.

Leon blushed and grabbed her sleeve. "No, I started it, Tifa! It wasn't his fault! I—"

Tifa waved his statement away. "Don't be silly, Leon. You wouldn't start anything unless your life depended on it. Cloud, get out. Come back after you take a long, cold shower."

"This is totally unfair and—" Cloud began, but the martial artist cracked her knuckles threateningly. "…I'm going to go take a long, cold shower."

"But… Tifa… I really did!" Leon exclaimed, frowning.

She patted him on the head and strode over to walk behind the counter. "Of course you did, Leon."

"But… but I did!"

-x-x-x-

Roxas raised an eyebrow and frowned, pulling his brother's hand closer to his face. "Is this real?"

Leon scowled and pulled his hand away. "It doesn't matter if it's real or not! It's the promise behind it!"

"Tch, even if it was and you didn't want to accept it, he would've made you keep it," Sora muttered, yanking the hand over so he could see the ring.

"Ow-! My hand is attached to me, you little brats!"

"What are we looking at?" Laguna asked, leaning over both boys' heads. "Oh, nice ring. …Wait, you're not engaged, are you?"

The oldest teen blushed and yanked his hand back, covering the ring with his other hand. "Of _course_ I'm not engaged! I'm more responsible than that!"

His father laughed and patted him on the head before reaching past him to get at the bowl of whipped cream he was making. "I know you are, Squall. I'm just making sure."

"Get out of that!" Leon exclaimed, smacking his hand with a spoon. "That's for dessert!"

"Ow! Hey, I'm your father!"

"And I'm the one who feeds you! Will you keep out of my kitchen until I'm finished!"

"Did I come in at a bad time?"

Sora grinned. "Hey, Cloud! Nah, Leon's just being all 'defensive cook' on us. Oh! How much did you pay for his ring?"

The blond raised an eyebrow and patted him on the head as he made his way over to his boyfriend. "Enough to be worthy of him."

Leon frowned as he slid his arms around his waist. "Must not have been much."

"Stop _doing_ that," Cloud ordered, scowling, before leaning down and biting his neck gently. "You're worth the world to me."

Roxas sighed and rolled his eyes. "Leon's always been like that, Cloud. We've been trying to tell him different for years."

"…Whatever. I'll change your opinion of yourself yet," the blond whispered, latching onto his boyfriend's earlobe.

Leon blushed and closed his eyes, whimpering softly, then scowled and elbowed him in the stomach. "I am _trying_ to make whipped cream! Stop bugging me about my ring and trying to sneak some and molesting me—Get _out_ of my kitchen or _so help me_ I'll get Shiva to bite you!"

"Ow-! Oh, it's _on,_" Cloud answered, grabbing the spoon out of the brunet's hand and shoving him up against the counter. He smirked as the smaller teen let out a yelp, then leaned in and crushed his mouth in a rough kiss.

The brunet whimpered softly, reaching behind him for something to help him, then grimaced when he shoved his hand right into the bowl of whipped cream. He paused in thought, then took the handful of whipped cream and threw it right into the blond's face. Cloud let out a yelp and yanked back in surprise, only to find the smaller teen's hand doing a follow-up and rubbing the whipped cream into his face.

"Hey! Leon-! What are you—Ack!"

"Jerk! Hey, don't do that! Stop! _No!_" Leon let out a squeal as the blond took the bowl and poured it over his head. "_Cloud!_"

Laguna watched them for a few seconds, then grabbed both Sora and Roxas by the shoulders and steered them out of the kitchen. "I think I'll take you two out to eat."

"Sounds good to me! Don't want to be here when Leon goes ballistic!" Sora answered cheerfully.

Roxas nodded his agreement. "When he sees what they've done to the kitchen…"

"Precisely why we're going out to eat!"

"Oh God it's all in my _hair-!_"

"It's all over my face!"

"_It's on my entire __**head,**__ Cloud!_"

Once the two tired themselves out, Leon smacked his boyfriend on the shoulder weakly. "You _jerk_. I was going to _use_ that."

Cloud smiled and reached out to yank on a lock of the brunet's sticky hair. "You can still use it. Just… maybe not the way you intended."

"Huh?" The smaller teen frowned and tilted his head. "How? _Eep!_" He blushed as the blond leaned in and licked some of the whipped cream from his cheek. "Cloud! I'm not having kitchen sex! Hey! _Ah!_" He let out a yelp as he was tackled backward, then shoved on the blond's shoulders quickly. "Get off, you jerk! I just said no kitchen sex!"

"Okay." The larger teen grinned and stood up, throwing the brunet over his shoulder. "We'll have shower sex instead!"

Leon let out a squawk. "_Eek!_ Wait! Cloud, look at the mess we made! We need to—_Hey,_ get your hand off my butt!" He began kicking slightly, not enough to hurt him but definitely enough to try and convince him to put him down. "I need to clean my kitchen-! _Oh!_ God, Cloud, why do you have to be so horny?!"

"Why do _you_ have to be so damn cute?"

"Don't answer my questions with more questions! Cloud, wait, are you serious?! Hey! Don't touch me there!" The brunet whimpered softly and began to squirm as he was set on his feet. "Don't touch such an embarrassing place— Hey! Listen to me!"

-x-x-x-

"So." Cloud grinned and leaned his head in his hand, trailing his fingers over the brunet's chest lightly. "Was it good, or was it good?"

Leon put his hands behind his head and sighed. "Which time? In the shower, on my floor, or on my bed?"

"Mm… All of them," the blond replied, leaning down to press a kiss to his collarbone. "I'm not picky."

"I know. …Because we did it in the shower, on my floor, and on my bed." The smaller teen smiled sweetly. "They were all good, Cloud. You're a real stud."

He chuckled and leaned back, running a hand through his boyfriend's chocolate locks. "Don't say that. You make me sound like a horse."

"Hmm." Leon glanced down at the sheet covering them, then raised his gaze to the blond's again. "I think you can give a horse a run for his money. I don't see how you can get that to fit in me sometimes."

The larger teen laughed and gave him a quick kiss. "I'm not that big. …But I do appreciate your kind opinion."

The brunet sighed and turned onto his side, snuggling up to the larger teen and wrapping his arms around his waist. "My kitchen is going to be such a pain to clean tomorrow… It's all your fault," he muttered, shivering slightly when the blond ran a hand up his spine before pulling him closer.

"I'll help you clean up. After all, it's my fault," he agreed, nuzzling the top of his boyfriend's head. "I love you, Leon."

"Mm… Love you too, Cloud…"

"Promise me something, okay?"

"Hmm…?"

Cloud leaned down and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Promise me that you'll always love me."

Leon laughed softly. "Cloud, I've loved you for years. I'm not just going to stop loving you now."

"Will you promise me, then?"

The brunet frowned and looked up at his face in confusion. When he found the older teen's eyes closed but his body tensed, he closed his eyes as well. "I promise. You're my first boyfriend, Cloud. I want you to be my last, too."

"Mm… I'm going to _marry_ you someday, you sweet little thing. I'll get a job that pays well, and you can be my cute little housewife. We'll have a nice house with a big yard."

Leon blushed and bit his bottom lip. "Y-you want all of that with me?"

"Why not you? A sexy little minx like you is quite the catch. And if you don't want to be a housewife, I'll support anything you do, because it's what you want," Cloud answered, placing a chaste kiss on his lips "I can see a life with you, Leon. Can you see a life with me?"

"…Yeah," the brunet answered softly. "But… Cloud? We're only seventeen. We've got our whole lives ahead of us. How do you know you'll want to keep me?"

"Because I've had life without you and I've had life _with _you, and I must say, I prefer life with you." He smiled. "And if it makes you feel better, when we're… say, twenty, twenty-two, we'll get married. Okay?"

"…I guess…" Leon snuggled closer and tangled their legs together. "We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?" 

"Indeed we will, gorgeous." Cloud bit his neck softly, giving one of the hickeys a soft lick before pulling the comforter up over them. "Indeed we will."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"Ooooh! Pretty!" Yuffie exclaimed, grinning. "Is this your engagement ring, Squally?"

"Okay, first of all, it's Leon. Second of all, _no._ It's a promise ring. Okay?"

"Looks pretty pricey for a promise ring," Paine pointed out, raising an eyebrow.

Rikku grinned and rested her chin on her hands. "She's right! He must've spent a lot on this thing!"

Yuna tilted her head. "What did he promise you, Leon?"

The brunet sighed and rested his chin on his hands, frowning. "Why is it that all of my friends are _girls?_"

"Because you're a queen. Now what did the chocobo butt promise you?"

"He promised that he'd always love me and he'd never get angry at me like he did ever again."

Rikku and Yuna 'awww'ed. "That's so sweet!"

Leon scowled. "No, that's the good part. A couple of nights ago, he was telling me about how he wanted to _marry_ me. When we're twenty. …Or twenty-two. But he still wants to marry me!"

Yuffie frowned. "I don't understand. You love each other, so why don't you want to get married?"

"Because what if we get married and he suddenly realizes that we're not meant to be?"

Paine sighed. "Ah, I see. You're afraid that he'll find someone better than you and leave you."

He sighed and looked down at his lap. "…Yeah…"

"Well, let's get one thing straight." Paine stood up and reached over the table, dragging the poor brunet to his feet and glaring at him sternly. "Strife is in _love_ with you, Squall. He's so in love with you that he'll always love you. Get that through your head. Okay? He's _never_ gonna want to leave you!"

"But what if he does?" he asked softly, looking like a very sad puppy.

"He's not going to. Stop doubting his love for you, Squall. If you don't, this is never going to work." The older girl gave his shoulders a firm, comforting squeeze. "And I don't want you to cause the ruin of your own picture perfect relationship. I've known you for years. You wouldn't be able to handle it well."

Yuffie decided it was time to add her two cents. "And Cloud wouldn't handle it well either. He needs you as much as you need him."

"…I want to believe that, but—"

"Don't say it, Leon," Yuna ordered softly, resting a hand on his shoulder once Paine had released him. "Cloud loves you. You can ask Tifa and Aerith. He's crazy about you."

Leon shrugged hesitantly before nodding. "Okay. I believe you."

"Good!" Rikku exclaimed, smiling, before grabbing his arm and leading him to the ice-cream stand not too far away. "Let's get some ice-cream now!"

-x-x-x-

Laguna raised an eyebrow, hands resting on his hips. "Isn't it a little bit early for you to be thinking about marriage?"

Cloud sighed softly. "Maybe for Leon, but I know I want to spend the rest of my life with him."

"…You're only seventeen," the man whispered, frowning. "And you're asking me now? I mean, I'm happy to see you and Squall so in love, but… really?"

"I don't want to ever love anyone else," the blond replied, frowning. "Mr. Leonhart, may I please have your permission to marry your son? I'm not going to ask him to marry me until we're at least twenty, so you don't have to worry about us deciding we really don't like each other halfway through the marriage.'

Laguna sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "…I suppose. But you've got to promise that you'll wait until you're twenty."

The teen smiled and nodded. "I've already promised Squall the same. Thank you, Mr. Leonhart."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. You can leave now." He waved for the blond to leave. "…And don't call me Mr. Leonhart! You make me sound ancient!"

-x-x-x-

Graduation was quickly approaching now. Leon and Cloud were proud to say that they'd been together through thick and thin for a little over a year. Sora and Roxas were the new troublemakers in school ("Were we ever like that, Cloud?" "Me? Yes. You? Absolutely fucking not.") and had earned themselves quite the reputation. Sora was going out with Kairi, and Naminé was going out with Riku. However, the twins knew it wouldn't last long. Riku was, in fact, not homosexual. He was Sora-sexual. Sora was smitten with the silver-haired boy as well, too. ("…Were we ever like that?" "I was _born_ gay. And you never denied loving me. So, _no._")

On another note, Roxas and Axel could be found almost anywhere sucking each other's faces off. ("I wish we could be like that." "Shut up, Cloud.")

Yuffie had taken Mr. Valentine's psychology class. She'd received the only one hundred percent A in his class. EVER. ("Except for yours, of course." "Shut _up,_ Cloud.")

Leon and Cloud had been voted the Most Likely to Elope to Destiny Islands After Graduation. Leon had seen this and sputtered that he didn't plan on going anytime soon, thank you very much, let alone to _elope._ Cloud had only made the comment that they were waiting a couple of years before they got married. This had earned him a blushing Leon and a sharp elbow in the side from Tifa to "stop embarrassing Squall!"

Laguna had been fidgety lately. When called on it, he'd begun crying and had pulled Leon into his arms, sobbing that he didn't want to let his baby go. The teen had blushed and exclaimed that he was an idiot because he was going to the community college for a bachelor's degree in business and was taking over the Book Bin from Merlin. The only thing that would be changing would be the location of his school.

His father had then frowned and answered that Cloud had said they were moving in together near the school.

Cloud walked around the last three weeks of school with a black eye.

-x-x-x-

Cloud sighed and grabbed his boyfriend's hands, which had until then been wringing the edge of his gown. "Baby, calm down please. It's just a graduation. We're going to go up, grab a piece of paper claiming we finished high school, and then we're going to sit back down. Okay?"

The brunet nodded hesitantly. "Yeah, but… I'm going to miss high school. It was _easy._"

"Honey, you've already got half of your classes for college finished," the taller boy deadpanned. "Do you remember how many _hours_ you sat at that computer, doing all of those college courses?"

"Well, yes, but—"

"And do you remember how many _hours_ I waited for you to get finished before I ended up falling asleep?"

"…I see your point…"

"You have nothing to worry about," the blond stated, cupping Leon's cheeks and giving him a soft kiss. "Please remember that you're amazing smart."

"Amazingly would be the word, Cloud," the shorter boy stated, which only earned him the blond's growl before he found himself being tickled. "_Cloud!_"

Cloud chuckled and pulled the brunet up against him. "So adorable, Leon. I love you."

Leon blushed and placed his hands on the older boy's chest. "I love you too. …Cloud?"

"Hmm?"

"…Are we really moving in together next month?"

The blond chuckled again and pulled him closer. "Of course we are, sweetie. I love you and I want to be with you without worrying about your brothers bouncing in and ruining our snuggle moments or trying to keep you quiet while we're making love. Besides, it will help us to see if we can stand living together so we can get married."

"Oh." The brunet blushed even more and looked away from him. "…Listen, Cloud, about that—"

"Do you not want to get married to me?" Cloud could only watch in amusement as the brunet sputtered and turned an even more attractive shade of red. The poor boy had no idea how to answer without humiliating himself or insulting him. He had to admit, though, that an unsure, helpless, stuttering and blushing Leon was quite endearing. "I'm kidding. I'm sorry, that was mean." He leaned forward to rub their noses together. "What were you going to say?"

Leon took a deep breath. "Cloud… I want—"

"Boys! Are you planning to go to your graduation or not!?" Laguna shouted, poking his head into the house. "We're going to be late!"

"Oh! Sorry, Dad!" the brunet exclaimed, grabbing the older boy's hand to drag him outside. "We're coming!"

The blond could only growl and come up with ideas of murder that he could and would never carry out against the man that had interrupted his moment with his lover.

-x-x-x-

Once inside the auditorium, Cloud cornered his boyfriend against one of the walls and frowned. "What were you going to say?"

"Huh?" Leon's brows furrowed together in confusion. "What are you talking about, Cloud? I wasn't saying anything."

"Before we left the house," the blond explained, sighing in annoyance. "You wanted to tell me something that seemed important, but then your dad interrupted you and you dragged me to the car. What were you going to say?"

The smaller teen blushed and looked away from him quickly. "Oh, _that._"

"Yes, _that._" The blond frowned impatiently, wondering what Leon wanted to tell him that he was so embarrassed about. "What is _that_ about?"

Leon shrugged slightly, twisting the promise ring on his finger anxiously. "I-I just… I wanted to tell you… I think… I think I want to—"

"Ah _ha!_ There you are!"

Cloud bowed his head in frustration, growling. He would _never_ find out what it was that his boyfriend wanted to tell him! He turned to snap at the person who had interrupted him but immediately shut his mouth when he saw who it was.

Tifa raised an eyebrow, frowning at them as she leaned forward. "Squall, did you forget that you're walking with me, Yuffie, and Irvine? You know, since 'K' and 'L' comes before 'S?'"

Leon sighed and nodded, allowing her to lead him away. "Alright… I'll see you after graduation, Cloud!"

"See ya, babe!" the blond called after him, then let out a roar of frustration and punched the wall.

"Yeah, you're totally whipped," Rufus stated, sighing, as he walked up beside the other blond. "You're lucky Leon doesn't take a few lessons from her."

Cloud grunted. "Don't think she hasn't tried."

"Oh? Well, imagine that."

-x-x-x-

Leon looked down at the diploma in his hands and smiled, wincing slightly as Yuffie pounced on him and gave him a big hug. "Ow! Yuffie!"

"Isn't it _amazing_ Leon?! I got to graduate with you guys even though I'm a year younger!" she squealed, nuzzling his chest. "Now we can go to college together and I can move in with you and Cloud and—"

"_No,_ Yuffie," Paine stated, wrenching her off of the poor brunet. "You're going to come with me and Rikku to stay with Yuna at the university."

The 'ninja' smiled. "Even better! That way I'll still be close to Leon but I'll get to live with girls!"

Rikku tugged on the brunet's sleeve quickly. "Did you tell him yet, Leon? Did you tell him?"

"Tell who what?" Leon asked, frowning.

The blonde 'tsk'ed and rolled her eyes. "You know, tell Cloud what you wanted to tell him?"

"…Oh. Oh!" He blushed and bit his bottom lip, then turned toward her only to find not only Rikku looking at him expectantly, but Paine, Yuffie, and Tifa as well. "I… haven't gotten a chance yet. I was going to before we came, but my dad yelled at us to hurry up, and then when we got here…" He looked up at Tifa and smiled timidly. "I got caught up and led away."

Tifa laughed nervously and rubbed the back of her head. "Sorry, Leon."

"It's… okay," he answered, nodding, before smiling again. "But I'll go tell him now."

"Yay!" Rikku and Yuffie hugged him excitedly.

"…I'll go tell him after you let go of me." As the two girls bolted back, Leon supposed that that would be the only time the girls would ever let him go so quickly. "Thank you. Do you guys know where he is?"

"Well, he's an 'S,' so he should be coming out soon," Paine answered, looking toward the door, then pointed. "There he is!"

"Ah! I see him. Thanks." He offered them one last nervous smile before running to go meet his boyfriend, whom was already looking around for someone (most likely him). "Cloud! Hey, Cloud!"

"The girls look excited, Cloud; this probably won't end well," Rufus stated, before moving away to give the two their privacy.

Cloud shot him a glare, then smiled at the brunet looking up at him and hugged him. "Well, we're no longer property of the school."

"Yeah. Um, Cloud, you know what you wanted to tell me? I—" Leon began, but was cut off by the blond kissing him. "Mm-!"

The blond held him close for a few more seconds before letting their lips part with a smack. "What were you going to say, love?"

"Uh…" The brunet blinked for a moment, dazed, before shaking his head quickly and looking up at him again. "I just wanted to tell you— I want to marry you!"

"What?" Cloud blinked at him in disbelief, then grabbed his shoulders. "What did you say, Squall?"

"I _said_ 'I want to marry you!'" the smaller teen repeated, smiling. "Isn't that what you want to hear?" He tilted his head when he received no answer, then his smile began to fade in anxiety. "Cloud? …Cloud, I'm sorry, I—" He gasped as the blond fell back in a faint, kneeling beside him hurriedly. "Cloud! _Cloud!_"

Aerith was beside him in seconds, checking his pulse and feeling his forehead. Leon was glad she was going to study to be a nurse; he knew she was going to be an awesome one. It only took her a few moments to come to her conclusion and look up at him.

He'd never seen her looking so serious, especially at him. "…Aerith?"

She looked away from him and up at Tifa. "Tifa, call nine-one-one. Cloud's heart isn't working properly."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"I gave Cloud a heart attack. I _gave_ Cloud a _heart attack._"

Aerith sighed. "No you didn't, Leon."

"Well you could've fooled me!" the brunet exclaimed, shooting her a glare, before slumping down in his seat and sighing. "I never wanted to wait in a hospital room again."

"I still can't believe Cloud never told you about his heart problem," Christine stated, crossing her arms and scowling. "That boy's getting a talking to."

Daniel sighed and grabbed one of her hands. "Honey…"

"Well, he is!"

"How is that supposed to come up in a conversation, though?" Sora asked innocently. "'Oh, by the way, Squall, I have tacky cards.'"

"_Tachycardias_," Roxas hissed, elbowing him in the side. "This is no time for jokes!"

The brunet scowled. "Well _sorry_ if I don't get the whole name memorized _immediately,_ Mr. 'I can memorize anything as soon as I hear it!'"

"Boys," Laguna cut in sharply, giving them both a glare. "This is not the time, nor is it the place."

All three Leonhart boys sighed and sunk in their seats. If Laguna was being serious, things _must_ be bad.

"It's really not that serious," Daniel sighed, running a hand through his outrageously spiky hair (and people wondered where Cloud got it from?). "He's got the most common and least life-threatening type of tachycardias. It's called atrial fibrillation, or AF, and it's usually asymptomatic; his episodes are paroxysmal. It was probably just the excitement and stress of graduation. The usual that happens is fainting; he doesn't get chest pains that often."

Laguna, Sora, and Roxas blinked at him for a moment before looking at Leon. The teen sighed. "It means he's got it all the time, but it rarely shows symptoms, and when it does, they usually terminate themselves within seven days. Apparently excitement and stress can cause him to faint or have chest pains."

"…Seriously, how would that come up in conversation?" Sora asked again.

Aerith sighed as well. "I'm not sure how you could bring that up in normal conversation, but he could have at least said something about it to you all." She patted Leon on the hand comfortingly. "I mean, Leon almost had a heart attack himself when I asked Tifa to call an ambulance, and I'm sure Sora and Roxas had a couple of their own from Laguna's driving, after all."

"Yeah, Dad! You tell Leon to take it easy and be all calm on the road, and then _you_ tear ass down the street! You're the one who taught him!" Roxas exclaimed, scowling at their beloved father.

Laguna scowled. "Leon was worried about Cloud!"

"You almost took out that old man trying to cross the road!" Sora argued, scowling as well.

The man growled in frustration, then looked at his eldest son for help. "Leon?"

"Don't look at me, Dad; you almost took out that old man. …I think it was Merlin," Leon added under his breath, sinking down in his seat.

Sora and Roxas heard him, though, and were horrified. "Dad almost ran down Merlin?!"

"That's _horrible!_"

"And after all he's done for us, too!"

"I can't believe Dad would be that careless!"

Laguna groaned and rested his head in his hands, as the Strife parents laughed good-naturedly. "I just can't win."

Any further speculations of the man's failure to win anything in an argument with his children was brought to a halt as a nurse came into the waiting room, smiling. "He can take visitors now."

Leon watched as Christine and Daniel went into their son's room, quickly followed by Aerith, Sora, and Roxas (though the twins may have been going in to scold him for scaring them), then sighed and looked down at the floor, resting his elbows on his knees. His father sat next to him, arms crossed, and sighed as well, slouching in his seat. They sat in silence for a few minutes, listening to the hospital as it ran like it should.

But that couldn't last forever.

"I'd think you'd be the first one in there, Squall."

The teen sighed again, then looked up at his father, frowning. "Why didn't he tell me? I mean, Sora's right—it's not something that would come up in normal conversation—but you'd think that he'd find _some_ way to tell me, right? I mean, I told him about my scar, and… and he didn't trust me with that? It's not even a secret! Apparently everyone knew but Sora, Roxas, and me!"

"I'm sure Yuffie, Paine, and Rikku didn't know," Laguna murmured, only earning himself a glare in return.

"You're missing the _point,_ Dad. I told him something intimate about me—forgave him when he got _mad_ at me—and he didn't trust me to know something that could be _life-threatening._ I mean—"

"Your mother didn't tell me that there was a good chance she'd die if she had the twins," the man cut in, stunning his son into silence. "She knew; the doctors told me she knew. She knew that if she told me, I wouldn't know what to do with myself. I wouldn't ask her to abort them, because we both don't believe in that, and by then it was too late anyway. But I wouldn't have wanted her to die, either. So she kept it to herself, and… I'm sort of glad she did.

"It would have caused us both much more stress and could have cost us the twins." He managed a sad smile. "She lived long enough to name them. I'm not sorry I didn't know, and I know she wasn't sorry she didn't tell me. She was always such a sweet thing, taking care of others before herself. Kind of like you."

Leon frowned, crossing his arms as well, before he stood and began walking away, though not in the direction of Cloud's room. "I'm… going to go see Mom," he stated softly, hesitating in his steps. "…If Cloud asks where I am, tell him… Tell him I just had to go think."

"…And?" Laguna asked, raising an eyebrow. "What you said to him after graduation, that you wanted to marry him? Do you still mean that?"

"…I…" The brunet hesitated before nodding slightly. "Yes. I think so." He waited another moment in thought before adding, "Tell him that I'll marry him on my twentieth birthday, in the Kisaragis' garden, if he'll have me."

The man laughed. "You know he'll have you, Squall. He's like a lovesick puppy." He raised an eyebrow. "Just what are you planning, you little scamp?"

Leon smiled sweetly. "I'm depending on you to make him feel badly that he didn't tell me about his 'tacky cards,'" he stated, then began walking again.

-x-x-x-

"_OW!_" Cloud winced and rubbed his upper arm, looking up at his mother with a wounded expression. "What was that for?!"

"_Why_ didn't Squall know about your AF?" Christine asked icily, placing her fists on her hips. "He thought he gave you a heart attack! You tell me why he didn't know right now or so help me I'll toss you out of bed and give you a spanking you'll never forget!"

"_Mom!_" The blond blushed brightly. "It never came up! How was I supposed to wiggle that into a conversation, huh? 'Oh, by the way, Leon: I have tachycardias!'"

Daniel frowned and crossed his arms. "I'm sure you could have found a way to mention it to him."

"Yeah, well, it doesn't happen often, so I figured it wouldn't be a problem. …Ever," Cloud replied, feeling more stupid with every word he said.

Aerith gave him a look so exasperated he actually wanted to slam his head into the wall. "He thought he gave you a heart attack when he told you that he wanted to marry you, Cloud."

The blond looked horrified. "What?! But— The stress, I—"

"…Where is Leon?" Sora asked, looking around the room in confusion.

Roxas sighed. "Don't tell me he's still out in the hall having an angst-fest."

"Actually, he went to go visit his mother," Laguna stated, walking into the room and resting a hand on each twin's shoulders. "But we should be going; we promised Merlin we'd be at his house for dinner. Squall shouldn't be long."

"But… he didn't want to see me?" Cloud asked, feeling a bit hurt that his boyfriend had come to see him.

The man raised an eyebrow. "He had to go clear his head, think a bit." He turned to steer his younger boys out of the room. "But he did say that he'd still marry you on his twentieth birthday in the Kisaragis' garden if you'll still have him."

"If I'll still have him?!" the blond repeated, looking appalled that him _not_ having him was even a decision.

"As if Cloud would ever _not_ have him," Sora mumbled, then allowed himself to be steered out of the room.

Roxas stayed back just long enough to exclaim, "You better tell him anything else that may hurt him later while he's feeling nice enough to forgive you!"

"_Out!_" Laguna barked, and the two boys hurried to follow his orders.

-x-x-x-

"I _thought_ I'd find you here!"

Leon winced slightly, then turned, appearing like a kicked puppy. "Ah… Hey, Yuffie…"

The 'ninja' smiled at him brightly and bounced up beside him, ignoring the appalled glances she was getting from other visitors to the graveyard. "So you're visiting your mom?"

"It appears that way, doesn't it?" he replied, face slowly fading into a small smile. "I was just telling her about graduation, and about all of our plans."

"Like how you're going to marry Cloud and make a bunch of beautiful babies?!"

The older teen blinked at her for a moment. "…I don't know about the 'beautiful babies' part. But yeah, I was telling her about marrying Cloud, college plans, the Book Bin."

Yuffie waltzed over to him and made herself comfortable on his lap. "Hey, ya know what you should do after you get your degree?"

"What's that?" Leon asked, leaning his chin on her shoulder to look at his mother's headstone.

"Well, you're going to have all of that free time, so I figured you could write a book!"

The brunet blinked for a few seconds, mulling over the suggestion, before smiling again. "And what would that book be about, Yuffie?"

Yuffie jumped to her feet and, pacing, began outlining the story. "It would be about the Great Ninja Yuffie and her sidekick Squall going out into the world and kicking monster _butt!_" she cried, pumping her fist into the air. "Picture this! The world is dark and covered with evil monsters and ghosties and the people need help! So who better to save them then the Great Ninja Yuffie?! She has to go along using her ninja powers to purify the churches in each providence, providing guiding light and hope to the people of the land and banishing evil beasties for good!"

Leon sighed and rested his chin in his hand, raising an eyebrow in amusement at his best friend's excitement. "Oh dear."

"_Yes!_" she exclaimed, spinning toward him and pointing at him enthusiastically. "And during the beginning of her travels she meets the adorable lion-boy Squall! But no—she doesn't just meet him! She saves him from evil pervert rapists!"

"…I don't like the way this is going."

"Yeah, yeah! And so he pledges his allegiance to her and joins her on his travels, and he has these awesome claws that come from his fingernails, like Lady Deathstrike from X-men! So then they go around purifying and cleansing, and then they meet this pervert wolf-man who decides he's smitten with Squall and kidnaps him to make him his mate, even if he has to rape him!"

"Um…" The brunet glanced around at the disapproving glares they were being given, then grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the cemetery. "Why don't you finish telling me while we walk to Merlin's?"

"Yeah, and we'll call the wolf-man _Cloud!_"

Leon let out an indignant squawk. "That is _not_ how he acts at _all!_"

-x-x-x-

Sora and Roxas blinked for a few moments, as if not sure what to make of things, before the brunet scowled and crossed his arms. "No good can come of this."

"Leon and Yuffie conspiring is never good," Roxas agreed, nodding. "Especially when Yuffie looks that happy and Leon looks that enlightened."

"It's like when they planned our surprise birthday party all over again!" Sora exclaimed in horror, then quickly moved to vacate the room. "Run away, run away!"

Laguna raised an eyebrow, frowning. "Um…?"

"I concur! Escape! Every man for himself!" the blond Leonhart added, only a step behind his older twin.

"…Hmm…" He looked toward where his son and his friend were speaking to each other in hushed tones, then walked over to them. "What are you two plotting?"

Leon looked up at him innocently (almost _too_ innocently…). "Plotting? What would we be plotting?" He looked at Yuffie, frowning. "Are we plotting anything, Yuffie?"

"Of course not!" The ninja looked appalled that he would suggest such a thing. "Why would we plot anything without involving Zack or Rikku?"

"…I don't like the way this conversation is going," Laguna stated, then turned to escape the room as well. "Dinner will be ready in about ten minutes."

"Ah… Dad?" The brunet grimaced. "What did Merlin make?"

Laguna frowned. "It… looked like some sort of soup. He said it was a recipe he picked up in Traverse Town."

"_Ew!_ Don't they put like this nasty smelling fish into their soups?!" Yuffie asked, nose wrinkling in disgust. "And that gross smelling _cheese?_ It's like, the world's nastiest smelling soup!?"

"…I may have seen a fish head, yes," he answered, nodding. Both newly graduated teens groaned loudly. The man scowled. "Oh, come on. Some of his nasty looking dishes actually tasted good!"

"Dad! I have _never_ heard of any soup that you would put _cheese_ in!" Leon exclaimed, frowning.

"…You can feed it to Shiva if you really don't like it."


	14. Chapter 14

Author's Note: Bwwwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa last chapter. **:**3 So it didn't go on as long as it might have, but I have no idea where else to go with it. Besides, it's five chapters longer than it originally was, and you get to see where everyone ended up! ^-^

Chapter 14

"Welcome to the Book Bin!" The voice was muffled beneath a cupboard. "I'll be with you in a minute-! I just sent Yuffie on a break!"

Cloud smiled and leaned his arms on the counter. "I never would have thought that _Yuffie_ would get a degree to teach preschool and then come to work as a cook _here._"

Leon yipped and jerked upward, then let out a short stream of curses when his head hit the top of the cupboard. "Ow! Son of a…" Finally spotting the cookie sheet he wanted, he grabbed it and leaned back out to send his lover a glare. "Says the guy who gets a bachelor's in auto shop and becomes a _delivery boy._"

"I like being a delivery boy."

"Yuffie likes dealing with ankle biters and coming to bake," the younger man retorted, frowning at him, before turning to the large bowl of cookie dough he was working with. "It's really not that surprising. Young children are the only ones that can keep up with her amount of energy."

Cloud huffed and rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I think she just likes teaching them not to talk to strangers. Then she teaches them her ninja skills."

"God, Cloud, I ask you to take lunch to her _one time_ and you assume that's all she teaches them!"

"I had twenty little kids come after me and kick me!" the blond exclaimed, looking appalled.

"…Whatever, you probably deserved it," Leon muttered, then turned to flash him a smile. "So what are you doing here, anyway? I thought you were going over to help Zack and Sephiroth move."

Cloud raised an eyebrow, then smiled back. "Well, I was, but I found something in the mail that interested me more."

"Oh? And what was—"

"_I HAVE RETURNED!_"

Leon yelped as the bowl and spoon he'd been holding were yanked out of his hands and he was shoved to the counter. "Ack!"

"Just go talk to lover-boy before people think you're neglecting business," Yuffie added, already in an apron and twirling the spoon like a baton.

Leon decided he'd just let it go. Turning to the blond again, he tilted his head and used the towel around his waist to wipe some flour from his arms. "So what was in the mail?"

"Well, it appears to be a letter from Organization XIII Publishing Company," Cloud replied, waving the envelope idly. He smirked when the brunet immediately reached for it and lifted it out of his reach. "Wait a second. What does the delivery boy get for bringing this to you?"

The brunet scowled. "He gets to sleep in bed with his husband instead of being banished to the couch."

The older man frowned, lower lip jutting out into a pout, but he allowed the brunet to snatch the envelope from his hand. "Party pooper." The pout was soon gone, however, in place of a confused frown. "What did you write, anyway? I know you wrote that humongous thing with Yuffie, but you never let anyone else read it."

"That's because I don't want anyone to read it until it's published." Leon took a deep breath, then ripped open the envelope. "Besides, Yuffie didn't help write it; she just edited it."

"Yeah, so what was your story about?"

The brunet paused, unfolding the letter, then turned his gaze on the older man as he raised an eyebrow. "A ninja girl saving the world with her faithful lion sidekick and her faithful lion sidekick's pervert stalker."

"Ah, so it's your autobiography!" Cloud smiled cheekily.

"…Shut up." He didn't know whether he should be alarmed or not about Cloud knowing he was 'the faithful lion sidekick's pervert stalker.'

Taking a few deep breaths, he hesitated before beginning to read the letter.

_To Mr. Squall Strife,_

_You really must thank Roxas. Lexaeus had read the first chapter of your story and gotten bored, and had been about to throw it in the trash when Roxas happened by and caught your name on the title page. Needless to say, he stole the copy you sent us, read it, and gave it directly to me. When he said he enjoyed the story, I was dubious at first, but Roxas doesn't like many books, so I started it._

_I finished the story two days later. It was incredibly amusing for your first novel, and I believe I can honestly say that you appeal to many different audiences, because after I finished it, my assistant stole it and read it. It circulated through the main thirteen members of our company before I finally managed to get it back._

_If you can get both Larxene and Vexen to enjoy the same story, it deserves to be published. Give me a call and we'll arrange a meeting to discuss the details._

_Sincerely,_

_Xemnas Xehanort_

Leon took a few deep breaths to calm himself, then turned, smiling brightly. "Yuffie, we're _published!_"

Yuffie let out a scream and flung her arms around him, accidentally shoving her cookie doughy spoon into his hair. "_We're published!_"

Cloud watched them embrace and raised an eyebrow, wondering just what had happened, but he supposed he was happy for his lover and his friend just the same.

Even when he didn't know what was going on.

"Hey, spiky! What's with them?" Zack asked, ruffling the blond's hair playfully.

The younger man batted him away, scowling. "Stop messing with my hair, Zack; like you have any right to make fun of me!"

The black-haired man smirked and struck a cocky pose. "I'm proud of my royal hedgehoginess, thank you! So, anyway, what's up with them? Did they decide to have an affair right in front of you or something?"

"Ha, _no,_" Cloud replied, rolling his eyes. "Apparently, their book got published. You know, the one none of us were allowed to read?"

"Yeah, the one Yuffie began to beat me with when I tried to sneak a peek." Zack narrowed his eyes at his cousin but didn't really glare. He didn't care all that much. "So… Do you think they'll give us free signed copies?"

"No, they're cheapskates."

"Hey!" Leon and Yuffie exclaimed, turning to glare at them.

"…Well, you are," Cloud retorted, crossing his arms.

Leon huffed. "Why would you need a signed copy when you're sleeping with the author or related to the editor?"

The blond raised an eyebrow. "We could make a mint selling autographed copies."

"Ha, ha, _ha._" The younger man waved him away. "Don't you have some packages to be delivering or something?"

Cloud smirked. "Why, are you trying to get rid of me?"

Leon scowled. "Yes."

"Well, fine." The blond turned to leave. "I may be late getting home; there's a delivery I need to make to Twilight Town."

"You know what? You might not be late if you hadn't dawdled around here," Leon replied flippantly, but grabbed the back of his coat before he could leave. "Where's my kiss goodbye?"

Cloud sighed and turned back to him only long enough to brush their lips together. "Goodbye. Really, I have to go now."

"Fine. I'll try and keep dinner warm." Leon watched him go, then sighed and rubbed the back of his head. He frowned as his fingers came into contact with something sticky and pulled his hand back to look at it. "…Is there cookie dough in my hair?"

"What?! No, of course not!" Yuffie answered quickly with a nervous laugh.

The brunet stared at her for a moment before turning his attention to Zack. "Hey. What are you doing here? I thought Cloud was coming over to help you and Sephiroth move."

"Actually, Sephiroth bribed his brothers into helping us move, so we were almost finished by the time he got there," he replied, placing his hands on his hips. "I just came in to ask Yuffie if she wanted to go to dinner with us."

Yuffie frowned at him thoughtfully, then slowly shook her head. "No, I have a date."

"Oh? With who?" Leon asked, turning toward her and raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not sure; Kairi's setting me up on a blind date."

"…That will only end in tears," Zack stated bluntly, then shrugged and turned to leave. "Alright, your loss. Not my fault you're missing out on Land of Dragons."

Yuffie waited until she heard the jingle of the bell signaling that Zack had left. "…Actually, that's where my date's going to be."

Leon snorted. "I hope your date _likes_ Chinese food."

"Shut up. He'll love it as much as I do."

"…I'm sure."

-x-x-x-

"…You know, I never thought you'd actually join a publishing company," Naminé stated quietly as she sipped her tea. "You _or_ Axel."

Roxas smiled a little and looked down at his own cup filled with espresso and caramel creamer. "I never really thought I would, either. Axel I sort of expected, you know, because he worked in the Book Bin for so long, but I've never really liked books."

"So why a publishing company?"

"Because technically, they're not books yet." Roxas chuckled quietly to himself as his friend giggled and rubbed the back of his head. "I even got to read Leon's book before anyone else. Besides, I like some of my authors. And Axel's a good editor, so we're usually paired up together. We work well together." His smile grew. "We're publishing Leon's book and are going to try and contract him for a series."

Naminé smiled and nodded. "That's good. I just got commissioned for a job of three murals for a large company in Agrabah. They're even paying for my travel expenses like the hotel and the airfare, so all I have to pay for is meals!"

"That's great, Naminé! So what's Kairi going to be doing while you're away?"

The blonde blinked for a moment, then looked upward thoughtfully. "I think she's got a fashion show scheduled. She and Selphie have a new line of dresses, and Sephiroth is taking his mother and his cousin, Fuu, which is bringing out all sorts of press. You know, I think he's doing it on purpose, because he and Zack have a liking for Leon and Leon likes Kairi and Selphie and they know that making Kairi and Selphie happy will make Leon happy."

"…No," Roxas replied after a moment. "That's not why he's doing it at all."

Naminé blinked at him in surprise. "You mean you know?"

"Yeah, Riku told Sora, and Sora told me," the editor explained, smirking. "Apparently, Sephiroth's mom _demanded_ that he take her and Fuu to the fashion show so that she could buy Fuu some stylish dresses, because she's finally decided she wants to date. I'm glad that she thinks that Kairi and Selphie make stylish dresses, though."

"Yes, especially if they buy some!" Naminé smiled brightly. "That would be just the kind of press they need!"

-x-x-x-

"You know, if designing dresses doesn't pay the bills for you, you can always start a business in matchmaking," Sora commented, smiling, as he placed a cup of tea in front of his best friend.

Kairi smiled a little as well. "Thanks for saying that, Sora, but I've really only successfully paired Yuna and Tidus, and they didn't need much help. And do you even know how many times I've tried to set up Yuffie with someone?"

"…That's true," Riku conceded. "I think you should just give up on her. She'll find someone who can handle her herself. Personally, I think she'd have to be incredibly lucky to ever get married. …And I think she's okay with that." He scowled and let out a frustrated sigh. "Sora, did you put paopu syrup in my tea again?"

"…Possibly," the brunet replied, before taking a sip of his own paopu-laced tea.

"I already gave you an engagement ring. I hate paopu syrup in my tea. In fact, I hate anything _but_ tea in my tea. And we've shared enough paopu fruit and paopu syrup and paopu juice to have our destinies entwined for millennia! NOW STOP PUTTING IT IN MY TEA!"

Kairi blinked at the older boy, stunned, before smirking coyly and leaning toward the brunet. "Your fiancé is sort of anal about his tea, isn't he?"

Sora sighed and nodded. "Yeah. A lot of other things, too."

"I'm not anal! I'm just tired of paopu!" Riku scowled when the pair ignored him, then sighed in defeat. "Oh, whatever."

"So how is attendance at your dojo, anyway?" Kairi asked quickly, before he could get even more frustrated.

Sora tilted his head thoughtfully. "Well, I get mostly kids in my classes, and Riku gets a lot of teens, but when we have Sephiroth, Cloud, and Zack come have spars against each other so the kids can see, we suddenly get twice the amount of people—and quite a few adults among them, too."

"That's because everyone knows about the rivalry between Sephiroth and Cloud. …Even though we all know that Zack could smoke them both," Riku added, sighing as he pushed his tea to the middle of the table.

The brunet giggled. "Shouldn't you be cheering for your own brother?"

"No."

"I'd cheer for _my_ brothers."

"I would too; your brothers are much cooler than mine. …Especially when they're pissed."

Kairi giggled as well and settled herself to watch the verbal sparring match occur. Despite how much they loved each other, they were still really competitive. And, as she always had when they were younger, she enjoyed watching them battle it out.

-x-x-x-

Leon sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he reached to unlock the front door of his home. He scowled a little as he felt the dry dough in his hair and growled quietly in frustration before letting out another sigh; he was too tired to be too angry with Yuffie. Stepping into the house, he idly tossed his keys onto the table and stretched tiredly, only to let out a yelp as the lights were turned on and he was met with a concerted shout of "surprise" from all of his friends.

Holding a hand over his heart, he stared at them for a moment before scowling. "What is the _matter_ with you?!"

"Cloud told us about your book getting published and we decided we needed to celebrate!" Naminé replied, smiling sweetly. "And this was the only time we could all get together!"

"Yeah, Cloud sent out this group-wide text telling us to be here or else, and then Roxas sent out a text saying why, and we become a surprisingly large party when we're all together, don't we?" Sora added, smiling brightly as he bounced over to hug him. "Congratulations, Leon!"

Leon hugged him back for a moment before patting his pockets for his phone in confusion. "Text to everyone?"

"Contrary to popular belief, I'm _not_ stupid enough to send you an invitation to your own surprise party," Cloud stated, smiling a little. "Thanks for the faith."

"…Sorry. It's just that sometimes you do things without thinking," the brunet replied, then leaned in and placed a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you, sweetie." Then, he turned back to the rest of the group and smiled. "Thanks for the party, but I'd really like to wash the cookie dough out of my hair."

Axel snorted and waved it away. "Psh, please, go wash your hair. We can just get drunk with Yuffie."

Leon frowned. "…Suddenly I have no urge whatsoever to wash my hair."

"Hey! I'm not _that_ bad when I'm drunk!" Yuffie exclaimed, frowning.

Laguna sighed and patted her on the head on his way to the cake. "Yes, my dear, you are."

"Hey!"

Roxas bounced up to him and smiled, holding his palm pilot in his hand expectantly. "So when should I schedule your meeting with Xemnas?"

"I'll have to get back to you on that," the brunet replied, chuckling, before letting out a yelp as he was grabbed in a headlock and given a noogie. "Seifer, I swear to God—"

"What? That you'll sick Shiva on me? …Again?" the older man snorted, then released him. "I hate to tell ya this, Squall, but having a dog lick me isn't exactly what I call threatening."

"Shut the hell up. What are you even doing here? I thought Cloud didn't like you." Leon began to reach up to fix his hair, but remembering the cookie dough, he decided he didn't care.

Seifer snorted again and reached up absently to fix his hair for him himself, showing that they were indeed better friends than most would guess. "He didn't invite me; Yuffie did. We were having dinner at the Land of Dragons when she got the text and booked over here. I was just invited as an afterthought."

"_You_ were Yuffie's blind date?" The brunet frowned. "…You'd make demon babies."

The older man scowled. "Fuck you."

"_I_ think our babies would be adorable," Yuffie retorted, sticking her tongue out at him, before poking him playfully with her fork. "Just think of little Asian babies with blond hair, or little American babies with black hair. I could eat 'em up!"

"…Like the cannibal we all suspected you of being," Axel muttered, only to yelp as the younger girl stabbed him with her fork in a much less playful manner. "Ow!"

"Bite me, pyromaniac!"

Seifer raised an eyebrow. "Well, I suppose since she's still technically _my_ date tonight, I'll go keep her from killing anyone. …Tell Kairi that my debt is _paid_ and I don't _ever_ want to be a part of any of her blind dates again." He paused, then added, "And once I'm gone, tell your friend that I have _no_ intentions of having babies with _anyone_ yet."

Leon smirked. "So you'd rather make babies with Fuu?" He chuckled when the blond shot him a dirty look and quickly held his hands up. "I'm just kidding. Though I hear she's about to get more into the dating scene soon, wearing some expensive designer dresses and her own brand of _sexy_ perfume."

"And just where the hell did you hear that?!" the blond exclaimed, spinning back toward him.

"A little birdie told me."

"…Go jump off a cliff."

The brunet smiled, then turned to go find his husband, only to get intercepted by Axel. "Ah… shouldn't you be molesting Roxas or something?"

"Yeah, well, I had something I wanted to suggest t' you," the redhead replied. "So, when you go talk to Xemnas, you're gonna talk about cover art, okay? And _I_ was just thinking—"

"I'll ask your sister before I ask anyone else," Leon deadpanned. "But I haven't even _scheduled_ the meeting yet, so I'm not going to worry about it until then."

Axel smiled. "I just wanted to make sure. Naminé is too shy to come up and demand it herself."

"Demand what?" Naminé asked in confusion, frowning, as she turned to look at them.

Leon rolled his eyes but decided to save the redhead from a beating from his sister anyway. "Respect and awe from all the men that meet you."

She stared at them for a few minutes, unsure of what to make of what she'd heard, before slowly nodding. "Oh. …Okay." She bit her bottom lip, then smiled bashfully. "If you need anyone to do illustrations for your books, though, I'd be willing to do it cheap!"

"Thanks. I may take you up on that offer." Once her attention was elsewhere, the brunet gave Axel a bland stare. "I think she did a good job of advocating for herself, Axel."

"Bite me."

.-.-.-.-.-.

Leon didn't get to wash his hair until about nine o'clock that evening; as it was, he still had his father and brothers there, drinking coffee and chatting while he took his shower. Once he joined them, however, he felt clean, if not refreshed, and sat down on the couch beside his husband. "Ugh! That was sweet, but never do it again after I've worked for twelve hours."

Cloud slid his arm around the brunet's shoulders and pulled him up against him, placing a gentle kiss on his forehead. "I thought about that, but I decided you'd be too pleased to be really mad. Besides, you enjoyed yourself, didn't you?"

"Oh, yes, I especially liked when the drunken Riku challenged the equally drunken Axel to a duel at the dojo. That'll be a mess that Sora and Roxas will have to pick up because then Driku and Draxel will be passed out cold." Leon yawned quietly but snuggled up to him nonetheless.

Laguna raised an eyebrow. "Driku and Draxel?"

"Sora and I made those up ourselves," Roxas explained, sighing, as he took a sip of his coffee. "It's short for 'drunken Riku' and 'drunken Axel.' …It's also used to describe the results of said creatures. Except usually it's following a string of curses. …Sora can get surprisingly colorful."

Sora scowled. "I swear, if any puke is involved this time, I'll turn the air blue. Do you know how hard I have to work to keep that place clean?!"

"…" After a moment's awkward silence, the older man turned his attention to Cloud. "So! Cloud! How's the delivery business?"

"Well, between delivering and working part time in Cid's Auto, not too bad. Especially because it's mostly business from Tifa, Aerith, and Cid. Though I do have a few people I'll make deliveries for, too, like Merlin or Yuffie. …Squall, too, if he asks me nicely enough," he added, nuzzling the brunet's head gently. "Well, I think Squall's fading fast."

"'m not," Leon mumbled, snuggling closer.

Laguna smiled a little and set his cup on the coffee table. "Well, I should be getting back home soon anyway. Goodnight, Squall. Congratulations."

The brunet hummed in appreciation but didn't open his eyes. "Thanks Dad."

Sora and Roxas glanced at each other before hurriedly standing as well. "We'd better go too. G'night Leon!"

"Congratulations on your book!"

"Thanks guys."

Cloud waited until he heard the door shut before lifting the other man into his arms. "Let's get you into bed, Squall."

"Okay…" Leon scowled a little as he was shifted around so that Cloud could lock the front door, but his expression relaxed after a short nuzzle to his neck. "'m tired, Cloud…"

"I know. We're going to bed right now," the blond replied soothingly. "But really, love; congratulations on your book. Looks like you've got another career on your hands along with the Book Bin."

The brunet scowled again. "_No._"

"Oh, so it's just a hobby."

"…Sleepy bye time now."

Cloud chuckled quietly and settled him into bed. "I guess we'll just keep up the forward motion, won't we, Squall."

"I love you…"

"…I love you too," the blond replied, bending down to press a quick kiss to his lips, before he slid under the covers as well. "Goodnight."

Snuggling up to him, the younger man sighed in content. "G'night…"

* * *

Well! I think that's the end of that! If you want anymore you'll just have to imaaaagine in for yourselves, 'kay? ^_~


End file.
